


Humanity

by SuperiorInferior



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: And they cant do shit about it, Dark Humor, Decepticons being annoyed 24/7, Discussions of trauma but its not that bad i guess??, F/M, Im serious that there will be a lot of discussions regarding emotions, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Reader-Insert, Robot/Human Relationships, Some minor deaths of minor characters, Suicide Attempt, Therapy sessions cause yall need it, Xenophilia, cursing, dynamic-opposites, human racism???, kind of???, reader also gives no flying fucks at first, reader is not exactly human, soundwave gives no flying fucks at first
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-08
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2019-11-13 18:33:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 45,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18036665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperiorInferior/pseuds/SuperiorInferior
Summary: (Soundwave x Reader)The Third-In-Command of the Nemesis ship was known for his commitment to the vow of silence-- a vow he took for Cybertronians to know he was not like the other council members that were once under Zeta Prime; that he was not all-talk, and would live up to his words. He was silent, but has more voice compared to the other Decepticons; he was idle, yet his frame screamed power-- that much, bots and cons, alike, can understand.And then there was you: a talkative human, often spouting words that contradicted her own actions; saying things that were parallel to them. Or perhaps, it's not that you speak the opposite of your intentions but you often misunderstand what you want.And then, the two opposites meet-- each distinct feature contradicting the other. One was an ancient Cybertronian, and another was a young human. One was silent; the other has words to say. One has forgotten how to feel, while the other wishes not to feel. One served only one purpose in life, and the other had none.Be as contrasting as they may, both share a common characteristic; one they can share a mutual bond with: both are not normal in their own worlds.The two lack humanity.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: Suicide would be a casual topic within this story. Don't worry, there's a very good reason for that! And eventually, the thought of suicide would be discussed in a deeper manner as chapters progress.
> 
> Legends:
> 
> (Y/n)= your name        (f/c)= favorite color
> 
> (L/n)= last name          (e/c)= eye color
> 
> (s/c)= skin color           (h/c)= hair color

        Being the Third-in-Command was one thing; the Surveillance Lieutenant, another; then the Communications Officer-- all different positions of different functions; yet, they were all being held by one Cybertronian. While it may be true that piles of responsibilities were loaded onto one Decepticon, the mech has grown used to it. Indifferent. Passive. A daily task of no significance.

        Soundwave carried the weight of it all without complaints.

        Known to be one of the most loyal followers of the Decepticon leader, Megatron, it was to be expected. His attention was divided equally among each role, not failing to capture the slightest of details of the things he can watch and hear, and occasionally, do. He doesn't plan to have his performance falter. And as of the moment, his task as the Surveillance Lieutenant was never more crucial compared to before.

        After some past recent events, the former, or perhaps _current_ , rogue Decepticon's loyalty was falling into question on whether she has her spark for the Decepticons' cause... or for her selfish interests.

        That's why when Airachnid decided to "go get some fresh air", Soundwave followed his own protocol to spy on the growingly suspicious femme by sending his drone, Laserbeak, as to while he had to attend to a fieldwork that requires him to retrieve a relic from the coordinates he recently decoded.

        As soon as Airachnid's alt mode left the ship's deck, Laserbeak went in pursuit behind her, making sure to keep itself from her detection by staying out of sight without straying too far. Designed to be an exceptional spy, the drone would most likely succeed.

        That is, of course, if the spider-like Cybertronian was not aware of it... yet.

**~*~*~**

        This was it.

        It's now the end of the line for you.

        Standing on the tallest cliff you've found so far, you looked down fearlessly, confirming to yourself that perhaps this height was enough to surely kill you instantly as long as you dove headfirst. The few spiky red crystals down below should be able to impale you from the acceleration of your free fall, if the height wasn't enough to kill you. You didn't even bother going down to test the fragility of the crystals or find out whatever those crystals were. You just wanted to get this over with.

        "Okay, I don't have much final words left to say. Hell, I don't even know whom my last words are for." You uttered to yourself, convincing yourself that your words held meaning to no one-- heard or not. Like your words, you were insignificant, at least to yourself.

        After all, no one would seem to miss you.

        Just as you were about to jump, a gust of unnatural wind blew past you, causing for you to pause and look for the one responsible of interrupting your final moments.

        A helicopter.

        The air vehicle swiftly dove down towards the red crystals, ignoring your presence in the process, and after it came a bird-like machine, seeming to tail after the helicopter. The drone then followed the dive.

        Curious, you spied from the end of the rocky cliff, trying to spot the two flying machines. The bird one was slowly descending, as to while the helicopter was nowhere in sight. You can only conclude that the helicopter hid from the drone, therefore, you can say that they weren't affiliated with each other. But then, how the hell did a speed-limited helicopter escape from the speed of a freer-moving drone?

        Suddenly, a giant black and magenta blur took the off-guard drone by surprise-- the attacker was a giant robot!

        Your (e/c) eyes widened, now invested at the unprecedented turn of events. 

        The bird-like machine tried to struggle from the robot's grasp, as the assailant tried holding it down. Now that it was a bit idle, you managed to take in some of its details. It has a build familiar to a spider-- that's all you can make out from the height you're on.

        "Hold still, you--" You managed to hear from the prodigious machine. The bird-like drone shot out a red beam, causing for the spider robot to be forced to loosen its grip over the flying contraption. "Not this time..!" However, almost instantly, it recovered and used the rest of its remaining strength to tear the wings off the drone.

        _A signal of panic was sent._

        Finally, as if to put the drone out of its misery, the spider robot finished it once and for all by stabbing it with one of its legs' claws, ending its struggle. And thus, it concluded the fight; a clear victor.

        The battle has ended. 

        And so did a life.

        As much as you hoped to be, that life wasn't yours.

        Hastily, the shape-shifting helicopter gathered all the red crystals by lifting the stone that contained them all and exited the scene by drilling through the ground it was once standing on, leaving a no-longer moving drone and a recently dug-out hole.

        "Sorry for your loss, lil' dude." You sympathized. "But I guess I'll be joining you real soon." You somewhat found comfort at the thought that you have a mere connection with someone or something through death. Even if it were a non-sentient robot. At least it was something.

        At least you weren't alone.

        And with that, you closed your eyes and jumped, awaiting your desired fate.

        You waited...

        And waited...

        Then finally, thud!

        Disappointingly, you fluttered your eyes open, only to sense the unrelenting heat of the sun mocking you that you could still feel; that you were still warm; that you were still alive!

        Angrily, you seethed, then calmed yourself, tuning back to your mellow mood.

        Of course. Who were you fooling? This wasn't your first attempt.

        You tried hanging and drowning. You tried being run over by a truck. Hell, you even tried shooting yourself in the head. And yet, no desirable results on your end.

        You were practically invincible... against your own will, unfortunately.

        "I just can't fucking die, now, can I?" You muttered to yourself before looking beside you, the drone still unmoving.

        This was hopeless...


	2. Meet Soundwave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternative Title: Consuming Glowing Crystals Is A Bad Idea Because It Tastes Bad. That's It. That's The Only Reason Why It's A Terrible Idea.

        Another shock wave blasted through the sand just beside the Decepticon, causing for him to recoil and rush himself to think through several escape routes to abscond from this ultimately fruitless fight. The Con continuously blocked each shot, dents started forming on his lean forearms, as he successfully deflected each energon blast. He can't flee with the possibility of being shot down. Fighting back was not an option either; for, he was outnumbered. Fortunately, none of the Autobots stopped their range attacks, wary of the mech's gladiator experiences. Other than the possibility of extinguishing an Autobot's spark, there were no other desirable results from this battle. It was not his mission to eliminate them today.

        Retreating was the most logical course of action.

        "Give up, Con! You're outnumbered!" The wrecker exclaimed, as he continued shooting from a distance; slowly nearing, as the blue mech tried stepping back.

        It wasn't long when Soundwave finished searching around the deserted area of Egypt earlier did the Autobots arrive. Autobots really are infamous for being such a nuisance due to their strong sense of bad timing.

        The navy blue mech was trying to fend off from the Autobots known as Arcee, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee-- attempting to escape after finding out that the artifact wasn't around the area; truly a waste of time and energon. They both found nothing but an empty tomb of a crater of where the relic was supposed to be. It was empty. It's now just a big hole on desert sand with no other purpose other than to mock the TIC that he would have to disappoint.

        Hence, both sides of the same race came for naught.

        If only the relic's coordinates weren't thickly lined with ancient encryption and complicated ciphers compared to the others, then maybe he wouldn't have concluded that this particular artifact must be of great use and importance, and thought of doing the hunt himself. Perhaps another Decepticon could've wasted their time on this insignificant mission, other than the busy Third-In-Command.

        This was, as much as Soundwave hated to admit it, unproductive. He would have to come back empty-handed.

        And then, a signal.

        Something was _terribly_ wrong.

        Alarmed of his drone's distress signal, he should leave with haste _now_.

        The shootings were slowing down-- this was his chance; an opening.

        Supersonic waves rung throughout the desert, causing for the enemies to duck and try to shield away their audio receptors from the painful sound waves within their radius. And like that, Soundwave transformed to his alt mode and took flight, heading towards where Laserbeak's signal was coming from. He should've known that Airachnid would spur some trouble. The huntress truly was another burden Soundwave has no time to supervise.

        Soon enough, the Autobots recovered. Shots fired behind the silent mech, but by the time he went on enough speed to break the sound barrier, they were all nothing but misses.

        Once he was assured that he was secure, the Con activated a groundbridge towards his drone's coordinates.

        And then, the signal ceased.

**~*~*~**

        After lying on the ground for a good two minutes, you stood up and dusted yourself. You've lost count on how many times you've tried to kill yourself. Your desired peace should've been claimed a long time ago, if your first attempt worked its wonders into finally keeping you still forever. It's starting to make you more creative with planning deaths-- hell, you even discovered new ways that you didn't think were possible into killing a human. Needless to say, you would've been a resourceful murderer. 

        Turning towards the destroyed drone, you eyed it before smoothly petting one of its detached wings, avoiding the electric blue liquid that was flowing from it. It was surprisingly cold despite the humid temperature, and not to mention it should have heated up from circuit failures and short fuses.

        "Wow do I wish I was you," You humored to yourself, then pondered over a certain thought. "I wonder... Who do you belong to..? Would they miss you?" It was a drone. For sure that it belongs to some robo-technician... or a scientist-- a certain profession you'd want to avoid, or at least to _anyone_. There's no denying that this machine should have value to someone.

        Eyeing the dug-up hole the robot left, you were curious where it would take you if you were to follow behind. Well, whether you try to find the metallic giant or not, it must be long gone.

        Sighing, you then eyed the cliff you once stood on, then your sight lowered down and found an entrance of a cave.

        Huh, you never noticed that before. It was pretty well-hidden if you looked at it from above ground due to some rock formations serving as its roof. That's probably what gave the spider robot cover; not to mention that there were some wedges in-between which could certainly serve as a good hiding spot. However, a certain glow caught your attention.

        Approaching the mouth of the cave, you peered at the source of the blue luminosity. Curious, you neared the seemingly glowing rock only to discover it was some sort of crystal-- a similar crystal that the robot took before it left. However, the one in front of you glowed sapphire, while the spider robot's glowed ruby.

        How peculiar.

        It emits this certain radiation that forces your hair to stand from its tips, as if it radiates some kind of static charge. Looks dangerous.

        Ah, another experiment. You haven't added radioactive rocks to your list of possible deaths yet.

        You wondered: what will happen if you chuck a piece of it and eat it?

**~*~*~**

        Soundwave was finally nearing the coordinates where Laserbeak's signal was last found. The mech didn't want to believe it, but as a pragmatic soldier, he had to assume the worst that could have happened. It was that rogue, Airachnid. She must be insane if she were to return to the Nemesis and think she wouldn't face any repercussions. She was the only relevant candidate for Laserbeak's demise.

        Laserbeak was a drone, yes, but Soundwave's spark was shared with him. It held of something similar to a familial value; an extension of himself. A minicon, as Knock Out nicknamed it at some point. 

        It was a symbiote-- a common thing back in Cybertron before the war started. Laserbeak was the lieutenant's exostructure. Soundwave used to have a lot of them when he was still part of the council-- inherited from his line of creators; back before he repressed himself to speak; a time before he committed his vow of silence. He often had them run errands when he was too occupied with his responsibilities as one of Zeta Prime's council members. Ravage, Rumble, Frenzy-- a lot of names recorded within Soundwave's processor, yet only one survived with him from Cybertron; Laserbeak. And now, he has gone and joined his past comrades. 

        The Third-in-Command should have killed the rogue back when she suggested to overthrow Lord Megatron's leadership; right when he got her under his pede. He feels nothing for her but contempt.

        Deep within his spark, despite the emotions he deleted, Soundwave felt regret. A silent grieving.

        But then again, this was war. Who was he to expect anything else from something that brings only loss and devastation?

        _Ping!_

An energon signal appeared suddenly out of nowhere-- at the same coordinates where Laserbeak was located. For a nano-klik, Soundwave had hoped it was Laserbeak's spark attempting to stay online. However, the spark within his chassis still felt that void of something missing-- it couldn't be his drone.

        It could only mean that an Autobot groundbridged to the coordinates, a possibility concluded from Laserbeak's distress signal that could have infiltrated both Autobot and Decepticon frequencies, alike.

        Finally, Soundwave arrived above his destination, landing gracefully on the rocky dirt, before immediately scanning the area.

        The first thing that caught his attention was Airachnid's means of escape: a dug tunnel underground.

        Then, he spotted his drone. It was absolutely mutilated. 

        Laserbeak's wings were detached from its frame, some pieces of it scattering about like broken glass shards. Stray wires were dangling at where the missing appendages were supposed to be connected. Lastly, there was a gaping hole on the center of his drone-- a stab wound, presumably. Energon was flowing freely from it.

        Attachment was an understatement towards the silent mech's connection with his drone; it was love-- a love comparable to a sire with his sparkling. Soundwave genuinely loved his creation, as it shared his soul and spirit-- his spark.

        Airachnid _will_ have a piece of Soundwave's mind once they meet again. A personal revenge that will be quenched; a vendetta that will result one of them spilling energon. Soundwave vows it wouldn't be his.

        The Decepticon commander picked up all the pieces his drone and prepared to leave, when--

        "Awgh! Definitely not lethal! Only lethal to my taste buds! I can't believe I actually ate a rock! What the _hell_ did I expect?!" 

        Ah, that's right. Soundwave almost forgot of the energon signal that was being emitted within the area. However, he didn't spot any Cyertronian on site. Instead, what he saw was a hunched human femme, leaning on some boulders within a cave while gagging.

        If there's a human around recent Con activity, then perhaps it may have an Autobot guardian with it... hidden somewhere.

        The navy blue mech approached the organic, before crouching in front of it; mindful of the height that the cave can only provide. Soundwave took note that he had found a potential mining site for energon extraction.

        Noticing a shadow looming over it, the human looked up from its hunched position, and stared at the new presence of mechanical life.

**~*~*~**

       Okay, so you may or may not have stumbled upon top secret government property. That might be the only explanation why you kept seeing robots around this area. However, you may be wrong. The way this robot held the destroyed drone-- with care and gentleness, instead of shoving its remains on some prepared container, like you witnessed before. It gave you the sense of it having sentience. Possible emotions.

        Curious for answers, you were the first to speak.

        "Is that drone yours?"

        The robot gave you no verbal answer. Instead, it gave you a nod.

        "The spider robot did a number on the guy. Does it have a name?" Soundwave was now confused. You weren't panicking; you were just calm and collected, as if this was of normal occurrence to you. If that were the case, you should still panic. After all, Autobots never fail to mention their enemies. But then...

        Where was your guardian? That question has been answered with the conclusion of you not having a guardian in the first place. You were a native civilian. A witness. By protocol, he had to eliminate you. It's just that the only thing holding him back from doing so was due to the fact that he detected a live energon signal other than the energon crystals surrounding the cave. He thought that maybe, you might be the phenomenon causing this. You did mention consuming a rock.

        He had to be sure.

        Blue light quickly scanned you from head to toe, temporarily blinding you from the sudden brightness. As you raised your hands to block the infiltrating light, the examination was finished, and already came in the result.

        You... ingested energon, according to the mech's data-- an info that _never_ held any wrongs. While some stats were not available nor detected, his scanner still brought him a clear inference. You consumed a small, undistilled piece of an energon shard.

        While that may be a strange predicament on its own, what's weirder was that the energon coexisted with your systems and allowed itself to be digested by your human organ called the stomach. And as a result, a minuscule amount of the same blood running within his specie is now functional within an organic, instead of the solution killing it.

        Fascinating.

        "Um, you don't talk too much, do you?" You asked, after long moments of silence from your last question. You're wasting your time here when you could be going around searching for new ways to die. "Well, that's okay. You're one of the few people I actually talked to for years. There's a chance that I may or may not be hallucinating you, so if you'll excuse me, I have t-- woah!"

        You were surprised when a tendril slid itself and grabbed the collar of your white shirt, as it brought you in front of the robot's tinted visor.

        God, you tried being nice but this is making you lose your patience. Your filter has been lost within the spurring chaos of your mind; anger and irritation. It reminded you how you were once treated.

        "Hey, this is kidnapping! You keep those tentacle porn to yourself! I've been man-handled enough in this lifetime so I'd really-- holy shit!" You were caught off-guard when you were thrown upwards before landing on a cockpit seat. Before your mind could even process what was happening, a seatbelt wrapped itself around you, securing you in place, and like that, the both of you were off ground and headed towards who knows where.

        You have a feeling that no matter how much you would try to protest, you can't get out of this stubborn robot. The space was too small to struggle. It was as if the plane was not made to transport human beings; it was a drone. Plus, you're still at awe at how he managed to turn into some kind of jet. So, you practically stayed quiet during the whole ride.

        This was definitely not controlled by the government, you concluded.

        Meanwhile, Soundwave was relieved that he didn't have to return empty-handed. He now has the coordinates of a good energon mine, and a small experiment that may be of use to their cause. With Shockwave's reliable science projects, who knows what can be made with this discovery.

        However, despite the unprecedented success he experienced today, none of them managed to heal the ache he was feeling from the grievance of losing a good partner.

        The sun was setting when you both arrived at the Nemesis.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to mention. Instead of going with the usual grimdark, angsty approach to a human being in the Nemesis with the Decepticons, I decided to take a U-turn and 'deja vu' (You are meme cultured if you get that reference), so expect the opposite.
> 
> On another note, I have my own headcannons on how symbiotes work within this particular universe. I'm primarily applying the TFP storyline, rather than the actual Aligned Continuity. I will also add some IDW concepts.


	3. Meet Megatron

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alterrnative Title: If He Can't Beat You, You Join Him.

        Soundwave was used to the stares.

        He was long indifferent to the gazes that vehicons often give him whenever he passes the corridor; often stopping their duty just to _stare_. The mech didn't exactly know the reason why. Perhaps it was the intimidation; they wish to create distance between him and themselves-- to "watch where they're going". Or perhaps, as narcissistic as it sounds, they gape out of admiration. After all, how often does the feared Megatron give free passes and compliments to a Decepticon? Soundwave certainly had a big fraction of those; a benefit of being a loyal follower. A good friend.

        But now, the silent mech certainly acknowledged why he was being stared at, and he would be lying if he were to say it was illogical.

        On one of his servos was a human, caged within his thin digits. Having a human on-board was considered as a phenomenon already, but the Third-in-Command holding it was another anomaly, itself. The weirdest part? The human was just cursing with their own language slang-- shouting, screaming-- not out of fear but out of agitation, and Soundwave just _lets_ it happen. The visor-wearing mech isn't one for mercy. But then again, the lower Decepticons never saw how the Communication Officer interact with a human before, much less hold one.

        And then, they noticed the officer's exposed chassis-- a place where his drone often rest on when not in use. Just like that, they directed their gazes on his other servo; the one tucked near his chassis, similar to a scene of a sire holding his deceased sparkling's protoform close-- a sight they once often see back in the war of Cybertron.

        On Soundwave's other servo was the destroyed form of Laserbeak.

        Just what in the All Spark happened out there?

        Each vehicon, as expected by Soundwave, gawked at the scene before them; their minds already thinking of conclusions before the Surveillance Lieutenant could even make his next move. But their train of thoughts were interrupted by the groaning noises the femme was making-- finally tired from cursing the TIC to oblivion.  _Lord Megatron wouldn't appreciate a foul-mouthed organic_ , they all thought. In fact, they don't think that the warmonger would appreciate an organic being in his ship  _at all!_

        Now, this begs the question within each low caste Decepticons' processors: why _did_ Soundwave bring you here?

        All the Decepticons currently within the corridor immediately retreated their optics from staring as soon as the Third-In-Command stopped and gazed at one of them back.

        They all internally shuddered in unison, as the higher ranked officer continued down his path.

**~*~*~**

        You finally stopped shouting; your throat starting to irritate from the constant usage of your voice in maximum volume. Besides, you're not making a difference anyway with how non-reactive your captor is-- not a single expression, nor a response. You'll just have to wait and see what's gonna happen next. And who knows? Maybe these weird sentient robots have the right tools to kill you. So, the best thing you could do in your situation was to behave, and heave out an annoyed sigh. The least they could do after all their troubles was end your misery.

        So far as you can tell, your captor was one of the big leagues on this ship, based on the effects it had on the crew. Now that you thought about it, who was the blue robot? You just kept naming them all "robots" in your head, and it's starting to get tiresome. 

        Looking at where you're headed, a colossal door awaited you. You guessed that the protocol your captor is proceeding with is the typical "take you to our leader", just by judging the grandness of the entrance. You're curious what the other side looks like, but for sure, their leader must be there-- that is, if your custodian isn't the leader already.

        The hatch opened, letting your captor walk through the entry, only for your eyes to set on a rather giant robot with spikes protruding from its shoulders; its back facing you. Other than its literally sharp design, the only color it has was just silver gray of different shades. Out of all the robots you've seen within this vessel, this one has the plainest composition yet. However, you'll admit that despite your latter opinion of its choice of appearance, its aura was an entirely different story-- one filled with a feared personality-- with intense malice and intimidation, unlike your captor's which was silent and subtle.

        And then, it all sunk in. These are _real_ aliens! They were actually, living beings made out of metal.

        They're bound to have a gender, and you guessed that the two robots within this room are males. 

        Then, you passed by some kind of huge table, where your captor placed his drone on; the noise alerting the large robot of your custodian's existence.

        "Ah, Soundwave, have y--" The gray robot turned, looking at the the destroyed form of Laserbeak, before looking at the human on his officer's servo, causing for your eyes to stare at ruby-colored ones. For a second there, you've felt a slightest amount of fear, only to be disrupted by a thought of realization that struck you.

        He has a fucking _blaster_ attached on his arm.

        "Huh, so you guys _do_ have names," You stated, before glancing at the blank visor of the robot holding you. "And your name is Soundwave? Wow, talk about irony, here."

        "Soundwave, what is the meaning of _this_?" Their leader, you assumed, asked, his question seemingly controlled by his slipping patience. You guessed that he was trying to contain his anger and confusion, and he doesn't seem the type to do that, which made you ask yourself why he was restraining himself. A special treatment, perhaps? Or was it out of courtesy, because you can't always judge a book by its cover. Even if it's a sharp-looking, deadly book cover.

        Your captor neared the boss bot, then presented you in front of his red eyes, causing for a staring contest to ensue, before the navy blue robot's visor showed some kind of data regarding your well-being; most specifically, the x-ray Soundwave scanned earlier. For a second there, you saw the silver robot's eyes widen a bit, before returning back to their normal sizes. It wasn't really an x-ray; it's more of your vital signs after you consumed the blue crystal.

        "And how do you suggest we can use this information for our cause?" 

        To answer his lordship's question, Soundwave presented yet another chart; this time, it's filled with the numbers of vehicons within the Decepticon vessel. The numbers were depleting rather fast, and Shockwave's experiments can't really keep up with the pace of their losses. It takes time, and the former gladiator knew this. They can't make vehicons like they used to before. Perhaps they can only produce five within a stellar cycle. Not to mention that Shockwave is now occupied with his Predacon project, which can only slow progress if he were to demand more cloned soldiers with their limited resources.

        Your body's function may be replicated for further advancements in their scientific projects.

        "Perhaps finding alternatives for vehicon productions can prove useful," The leader remarked, pondering over the thought. "Tell Shockwave that he has a new project to prioritize. Results from this can perhaps quicken the production of the Predacons too through the use of an organic form of production." The ruby-eyed robot smirked, before dismissing Soundwave, which would've gone smoothly if only you didn't open your mouth.

        "Shockwave? Soundwave? Does everybody's name here end with 'Wave'? Oh yeah, you didn't get to tell me your name," You addressed to the leader rather casually, causing for your captor to lightly squeeze his digits in; warning you. You didn't feel the pressure.

        "My designation is _Lord_ Megatron, and I will not be addressed by you as equals!" He snarled as your reaction remained indifferent. In fact, there's only one thing that interests you now, which faltered your focus from his threat. Yeah, you guessed right.

        It's the extra-looking blaster.

        "Soundwave, be sure to teach this pest manners on how it should behave within this ship." Megatron growled, as the navy blue mech nodded immediately, wanting this meeting to be over with.

        "Okay, but before that, I hope you realize that you look like a giant cheese grater. You know that, right?"

        This... This femme is insane; the only conclusion Soundwave could come up with, hence explaining your reckless behavior. Are you not aware that your life can end here; right now?

        Before the visor-wearing mech could do anything, you were immediately snatched from his grasp. You ended up on Megatron's servo, who is currently attempting to squeeze the life out of you.

        "What reassurance do you have to talk to me with such conduct, to think you will not perish from doing so?!" This guy... was really easy to irritate; easy to trigger like a certain scientist you once knew.

        "Tough break, dude. I don't need air nor blood circulation." You mocked, causing for the gray mech to grind his dentas in pure annoyance from your constant disrespect, as his grip tightened.

        By the amount of Pascals you're receiving from the pressure, you should've been dead by now, knowing the fragility of humans, Soundwave thought. But perhaps, he could have been betrayed by his leader's scrunched up face plates; for, the blue mech compared Megatron's facial expression to the force he was currently giving you.

        To end this, Megatron thought of just eliminating you overall, seeing that you're trying to 'resist' the pain he's inflicting on you. He would have been confused if he weren't so infuriated. The mere fact that you now see yourself to be important because of your phenomenal anatomy. Well, he doesn't _need_ you.

        "You're not as important as you think you are, organic. If that's how it's going to be," Megatron then dropped you, causing for you to land on your feet effortlessly on the ground. "Your purpose on this vessel has been nullified." And with that, he aimed his built-in cannon towards you, as your eyes sparkled with excitement. "Any last words?"

        He'll just have to find another organic with the same circumstance.

       "What'cha gonna do with that big blaster? Gonna shoot me? Better make it count. Better make it hurt. Better kill me in one shot." You dared, hoping that this was it.

        "Do you seriously have a death wish?!" The warmonger exclaimed as his blaster flared up with charging energy.

        "Hell yeah." You muttered for yourself to hear, unaware that a certain officer caught what you said with his highly-sensed audio receptors.

        Without hearing an audible answer back, the gladiator then took his shot, as you stood your ground. And with that, a blast's shock wave rung out the entire room, and a thud on a nearby wall can be heard, as smoke tried to dissipate from the source of that wall's impact.

        Silence...

        Then, there was a growl of annoyance.

        "Ugh, I thought for sure that could've _worked_." You groaned in frustration as both mechs stared in disbelief. That was a _direct_ fire; a direct _energon_ blast. No human could've survived that! Primus, not even a vehicon could've survived that. _Dreadwing_ didn't survive that. You had no armor or whatsoever to protect you!

        What in the All Spark just happened? Did he, perhaps, miss?

        "Dammit. Just great. Now if aliens can't kill me, nothing _possibly_ can." You then uttered strings of curses, cursing your life and the likes. The usual reaction you do when you failed yet _another_ attempt.

        "Soundwave." Megatron called out for his Third-In-Command to explain, his optics never leaving your sitting frame that's still muttering slangs of your language. Nodding to his master, the Communications Officer picked you up, and redid the scan.

        "Hey! A little warning next time!" You exclaimed, trying to block your eyes from the blinding blue light that Soundwave emitted yet again. You weren't having it. You're in an irritated mood as it is already. You don't want another factor to contribute to that.

        An updated set of data presented itself on the Surveillance Lieutenant's visor. The data... was the same.

        Nothing explained what just happened. It just showed that you consumed energon, and your organs reacted neutrally to it. Other than that, your vitals showed one that would expect from an average human; normal pulse rate, normal blood flow (with a trail of energon), normal _everything_.

        "Um, quick question: what's an energon?" You asked, after staring at the navy blue mech's visor. Again, another shocker.

        You couldn't possibly be a human. At least, not in their perception.

        You shouldn't be able to read that.

        The texts on Soundwave's visor were pure Cybertronian.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, I wanna mess with Megs and have him helpless about it.


	4. Meet Shockwave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternate Title: Your Whole Existence Is Illogical.

        Wow were you in such a bad mood today.

        Other than your charred clothes that Megatron caused with his plasma blaster, what really irked you was that you discovered that there was _literally_ nothing on Earth that can end you. Hell, even aliens tried; they failed. Miserably. And now, look where you ended up in. On the bright side, the situation was—more or less—interesting. You're currently inside of some kind of UFO that you heard them call the _Nemesis,_ surrounded by clueless robots who have no idea how to handle you. 

        It was low-key amusing.

        Right now, you’re just lying on some metallic berth, after they brought you in a place that you can assume to be a lab. You believe they're waiting for the results after examining your body with some green light. The lab's scanner operated a lot more advanced compared to Soundwave's built-in scanner, seeing that the monitors took a while to process detailed data. However, while waiting, you can't help but heave out a sigh from the awkwardness of the current predicament you're in.

        "Okay, are you guys just gonna stare at me or..?" The thing about your invulnerability was that all their threats were empty to you; they do not scare you. If they can't kill you, fine; if they can, even better. But for now, you're stuck with the privilege of talking to the warmonger, the surveillance lieutenant, and the scientist in any manner you wish to address them, because they lack the capability to give you shit for it.

        “Results are now in display," The one you presumed to be Shockwave announced with his baritone voice, causing for the two other mechs to crane their helms towards the monitor. "As illogical as it sounds, according to the analysis, this organic may not be organic in the first place, but a mere _product_ of an organic." He further expounded monotonously, causing for Megatron's optic ridges to scrunch up in confusion.

        "You mean to tell me that this _thing_ is nothing more than a human experiment?!" The warlord exclaimed, pointing at you as you expressed your displeasure by scowling on how these robots are starting treating you like how _they_  once treated you. It all starts with them treating you like an object; calling you like one.

        "Oh fuck off, you guys are the robots here. If anything, you guys are the _thing_ here," You remarked, a flash of irritation on your face, while crossing your arms as the gray mech glared at you. Before the leader could even retort, Shockwave continued to report his findings.

        "To be certain, dissection is a recommendation. The scanner merely grazed the surface and only identified its shallow anatomy. It appears to be emitting some sort of frequency that cancels out the scanner's radiation. It's insignificant in amount, but it appears that even a low quantity of it can have potent effects. The only thing the instrument captured was the flow of a small amount of energon within its systems, hence showing its fluid circulations." The scientist explained, turning towards his leader for further instructions, if Megatron were to offer any.

        "I'm afraid that there will be difficulties of going with that procedure," Megatron started lowly, before eyeing your frame with such distaste.

        "I perhaps do not follow, master." 

        "You can't check my insides," You scoffed, finally sitting straight on the berth, your face showing disinterest.

        "As a subject of an unethical experiment, you have no say in this." Shockwave commented rather calmly, as you rolled your eyes, getting tired on how often you have to repeat your circumstance to them.

        "No, you _literally_ can't check my insides," You sighed out. "I can't be opened up; not until we find something that can cut me." You clarified, as the singular crimson optic continued to stare at you.

        "Unfortunately, this little creature upholds to its claims," The gray mech supported rather begrudgingly, as Shockwave's expression remained forever emotionless. "My attempt of an elimination proved to be futile."

        "That is... beyond logic. Organics are known to be fragile." He contended, denying unless you were to give proof in front of him.

        "Ah, but you said so yourself that I may not be organic, or at least _purely_ organic, hence explaining my situation." You reasoned, emphasizing on some parts to prove your point, as the scientist spared a few moments to process what you just said. Finally, he replied.

        "I find your argument to be... logical." While you didn't exactly provide evidence Shockwave was looking for, his master's claims stopped his temptation of trying to actually hurt you; wanting to test your statement-- if you really were invulnerable. There may be another chance to prove your invincibility. But for now, if Lord Megatron claimed so, he will obediently follow.

        Finally, the leader spoke, his optics impatient towards you.

        "Do you have other means of examination, Shockwave?"

        The one-eyed mech then tampered with the keyboard as if to answer his master's wishes, typing away as a new set of information presented itself, overlapping your body's image on the screen.

        "With the use of the energon flowing through its inner valves, I can use the fluid flow as a guide towards its anatomy. The energon would trace its parts; a blind scan, per se. Inaccurate, but the best course of action if you wish to continue with this human's examination." Shockwave waited patiently, as if wordlessly asking for permission.

        "Proceed." With that one command, the Cybertronian scientist then continued typing away.

 _That's... actually smart_ , you thought. That's quite a productive alternative: they plan on mapping your body out by tracing it with the use of the glowing fuel inside of you. Not even the scientists that once held you thought of that. Or maybe they did and tried it, but it's not as effective as energon.

        "I cannot seem to tell if it is made of organic material or metal alloy. According to the limited data, while its composition cannot be conceived, it appears to have a system entangled with both human and cybertronian anatomy. It has a transformation cog, while at the same time, it has some parts that are unfamiliar to cybertronian origins, which I believe to be human parts." The scientist diligently researched further, and at some point, you're pretty sure he quickly researched about the basics of human anatomy, before it was covered by more data tabs. "It would seem that this is the limit. The scans can only go far to, what I assume to be, its processor, appendages, and its lower regions. I cannot identify if it lives off with a spark, or a human heart. I can only presume that whatever power source it has within its chassis is what emits the frequency that disrupts the scanning."

        "Tell me," Megatron then faced you, his crimson optics gleaming at you with disgust, thinking that you were another case of that _abomination_. "Where did you come from? What are your origins?"

        You pondered for a moment, wondering if you should tell them the whole truth, or part lie.

        "I came from a human lab. And no, I don't remember who or what I used to be before _this_ ," You gestured towards yourself, as if not knowing how to explain.

        "Did those human scientists have a hold on anything that seem similar to our specie?" He interrogated, which only grew harsher by tone when your answers did not seem to satisfy him.

        "No."

        "Did they create you?"

        "I don't know, but I don't think so."

        "Did someone teach you to read Cybertronian?"

        "No."

        "What lab were you from?"

        "I'm not sure."

        "What did they do to you?"

        "Nothing. They can't get samples from me, much less hurt me."

        "What kind of life did you live before being in such a facility?"

        "I told you: I don't remember."

        "Do you know _anything_ about yourself?!"

        "My name is just (Y/n). I don't have a last name. And I don't know how old I am either."

        "This interrogation is pointless, seeing that all your answers hold no value."

        "I agree."

        And like that, the interrogation ended as quickly as it begun, seeing that the warmonger has grown impatient with you. He would have to settle with a more... pragmatic approach to the research rather than depending its basis on you, seeing that you're not really a reliable source.

        "Shockwave, can you determine if its Cybertronian parts were given from a transplant surgery?" He turned to his head scientist, to which the purple robot replied respectfully.

        "Negative. No nanite clotting is visible nor does it have any repairing tissues in terms of organic recovery."

        "So it's all... natural?" The leader managed to drawl out, unsure of what to hypothesize from the given information-- that seems to be the only conclusion he can draw out.

        "That would be the only logical reasoning from the gathered data." Shockwave confirmed, as Megatron pondered what to do with you. You hold no valuable information, cannot be run with experiments, don't have any sorts of assets-- what use could you possibly have?

        But then again, for all the warlord knows, you might be lying. And he can't hold anything against you for that.

        "It would seem we have reached a dilemma," The gray mech declared, causing for you to stand up straight from your sitting position, watching the leader's slow struts-- his back facing you. "On whether we abandon you," He turned. "Or imprison you." The warmonger continued, as he walked nearer towards the metallic table you were on.

        "Look, I just really want to be alone while I contemplate my own death, okay? I don't exactly know why you guys kidnapped me, but since you guys can't kill me, I have yet to search ways to kill myself, capiche?"

        You were... peculiar.

        Usually, the humans Megatron encountered were self-preservative-- similar to his Second-in-Command, but you... you didn't even bat an eye on your supposed death. You weren't afraid to die; you were looking for a way to look at death straight in the eye, and embrace the consequences afterwards.

        _Fearless_ \-- that's what you were. A desirable trait Megatron wishes among his ranks.

        "The most logical course of action is to have it remain here, where I can test on its invulnerability and look for ways to replicate it, while at the same time prevent the autobots from figuring out such discovery." Shockwave suggested, causing for the former gladiator to smirk at the possibility of copying your 'armor' and use it against his enemies. While it may take time, he knows that all good things come to those who wait.

        However, there are some things he wishes to address.

        "Soundwave, you are in charge of the human. Make sure to give it whatever it needs." You perked up from Megatron's command, almost forgetting that the navy-blue mech was in the room with his undisturbed silence. Shockwave, well, didn't really react, but was rather perplexed. Seeing that he'll be the one conducting experiments, it was logical of him to assume he'd take responsibility. However, Megatron's next instruction clarified the reason for everyone in the room. "While at it, try to reach every resource to research about its origins."

        Soundwave just sternly nodded.

        Then, the warmonger turned to Shockwave.

        "As for you, you shall do daily reports from this human. See if there is of use from your discoveries from its... peculiar anatomy. The more progress we make, the more promising the future awaits us." The warlord's optics swiftly shifted to you before locking eyes with Shockwave, clearly showing his intent.

        "Understood, master." The scientist affirmed, causing for Megatron's smirk to widen, showing his sharp dentas.

        And finally, Megatron faced you.

        Given that there's a chance you might be just like Breakdown's... past predicament, a special case of a human, or perhaps even an unidentified specie, the gray mech considered more of his gains that can be accomplished through you, rather than his internal opinions. Priorities must be aligned, and his goal as of now was to create a weapon out of you.

        You just may be the key to help them win this war.

        "Congratulations, (Y/n). You are now a member of the Decepticons, whether you like it or _not_."

        "As long as it's dangerous, count me in."


	5. Meet Starscream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternative Title: Did You Just Assume My Gender???

        You are now dismissed.

        After Megatron announced his assignments to his Head Scientist and Communications Officer, he was quick to let all of you proceed to whatever activities you have for today-- specifically, to whatever activities they have for _you_ today. Sufficient to say, you didn't expect that being abducted by aliens would be so... _boring_ , honestly. But maybe, that might just be you since you don't feel the thrill of your life being threatened.

        The fact that you're once again seated on the Third-In-Command's servo with an indifferent expression on your face proved this.

        Although, while waiting to arrive to wherever your destination is, you couldn't help but ponder over what Megatron asked you before he discharged your presence.

        " _Tell me, (Y/n). Do you have any friends? Or family perhaps?_ "

        And as usual, you dissatisfied him with your disappointing short answer of a "no". That was the truth, whether he chooses to believe it or not (which you doubt he does). Your answer doesn't matter; Soundwave will still attempt to figure out your past. Not that you'll try to stop him; you're just as curious. 

        If perhaps you were to have any of either friends or family, then maybe you wouldn't even be here in the first place. But of course, as life would have granted it, you wouldn't even dare to dream the luxury of it.

        You were pretty confident that he asked you that just so that he could use something against you, knowing fully well that they can't scare you no matter what empty threat they spit at you.

        However, you may have slipped a last dialogue for yourself too, in the process of Soundwave taking you away.

        " _Sorry for pissing you off. Just wanted you to do your best in killing me. No hard feelings!_ " It was quick; rushed, but certainly did its job on somewhat easing the warlord's annoyance towards you. You weren't too sure though, you left before you could even take a glance at his reaction.

        You didn't know why you told him that last bit. Maybe it's because you couldn't stand people holding a grudge over you, unless you hate them. Because you just met, he didn't really do anything for you to either like or dislike him (other than him constantly calling you an "it", you feel neutral towards him). That may be your low self-esteem talking, but either way, you have this bad habit of caring over what other people think about you. Well, perhaps not. You don't care for their opinion towards you; you just don't want people to hate you when you especially plan on leaving this world. You felt like that would ruin your plan of a peaceful departure.

        You guessed it didn't matter anyway. 

        For now, you're just curious about where Soundwave wishes to bring you. You've passed trails of glowing purple striae across the halls that seemingly went on forever, not seeing the end of it. You wondered if they served a purpose, or perhaps they were just decorative-- your curiosity also reaching to the extent of the similar glowing veins on your visor-wearing custodian. It would seem that you've reached the ultimate dullness, witnessing yourself being curious of the least important things-- a tragic effect of boredom. Despite this pathetic realization, your mind continued to ponder over your last notion.

        Before you could even make random guesses, your train of thoughts, along with the TIC's stride, had been interrupted by multiple heavy pedesteps, heading towards your way, based from the volume of their steps increasing.

        Turning from the corridor greeted you with a sight of yet another robot. Correction:  _robots_.

        A group of a different set of robots-- other than the purple ones-- stood behind, who you assumed to be, their commander. This lot, much like the purple ones, have single-lensed red visors that serve as their eyes. However, unlike the so-called vehicons, their mouths weren't concealed with mouth plates, hence showing their sharp teeth that closely resembled to Megatron's. Not only that, they also have mandibles protruding from the sides of their jaws.

        In summary, they looked like metallic biped insects.

        Although, the leader was quite a contrast to their heavy builds. Or at least, you assumed the robot in front to be the leader, seeing that it was guiding the group.

        The commander was similar, in a way, to Megatron, yet the disparity was blatantly obvious due to its more slender and smaller frame. Red was the first thing your eyes landed on-- either from its vermillion optics or that long nib from the center of its forehead; not entirely sure where to focus. But then, your sight traveled to its wings before it went down to its feet having some kind of... wait, are those stilettos?

        A new realization came into mind.

        Despite being instructed to stay in this ship, you barely know anything about your captors other than the fact that they're sentient, metal aliens who probably has murder in their agenda. All you know was that they're here on Earth with genocidal tendencies, based on their environment alone; they also associate themselves to the term "Cybertronian"-- that, and they can transform into jets. Or at least you assume all of them can transform into jets; some might not be capable or some may have a different form-- you don't know.

        But now, you realized that it's possible they may have more than one gender too.

        "Ah, Soundwave. What a surprise to meet you here. Did you just return after managing to retrieve the relic from the coordinates you decoded earlier?" The leader's scratchy voice mused with a smirk-- the sound equivalent to a chalkboard being scraped.

        Rumors spread fast around the Nemesis-- the new rumor: Soundwave failed to retrieve the relic and had Laserbeak destroyed in the process. Of course, not used with the TIC failing despite the high success rate, the Second-In-Command couldn't help but flaunt his infamous superiority complex.

        Instead of answering, the Surveillance Lieutenant produced a set of coordinates on his visor, showing the energon mine he visited earlier, causing for the seeker to focus on the image displayed, before frowning.

        "Alright fine, I'll get to that later. I just returned from one of our energon mines, and..." The hunched robot's optics captured a minuscule amount of movement from the corner of his sight, his smug look returning. "Oh? The great Third-In-Command now has a pet?"

        You immediately didn't like this robot.

        You're _not_ a pet. You're a target for them to _kill_. If this bot calls you a pet again, you'll show a fucking pet with rabies if given the chance.

        "Hey Soundwave, is this what your specie's females look like?" You asked bluntly  _and_ honestly, genuinely curious, making the seeker seethe at your disrespectful behavior.

        A short-lived chuckle was heard from the back of the group, making the second-rate commander quickly turn and glare at the source of the sound of amusement, quieting the once snickering vehicon. After a few moments of silence, the Second-in-Command then turned back to you, hunching down further to reach your eye level.

        "I do not tolerate _any_ forms of insult, human!"

         _Insult..?_

        It took you a while to process what _he_ just said, your eyes widening at the realization, finally understanding your mistake.

        "Oh my fuck, you're _male_ ,"

        "Yes! I, _Starscream_ , am a mech! Why did your fleshy processor think _otherwise_?!"

        "Well, maybe it's because you're wearing heels, which in _Earth_ terms, are worn by females. Hell, that explains a lot on why you're hideous in female standards."

        The vehicons at the back were now trying to keep their laughter down, afraid that the seeker would hear their taunting sneers. Most importantly, they're in front of the well-respected Third-in-Command (unlike Starscream). Unfortunately, their commander heard it loud and clear, causing for the now identified _mech_ to yell his displeasure towards his assigned troops. After the stunts the former traitor committed, he still has yet to earn back the respect he used to have within the vessel.

        Soundwave observed the scenario with silent amusement, finding you to be quite a comedian despite not even trying to be one. Your brutal honestly was apparently the core of your sense of humor. Quite a sharp tongue, for an organic. Now, he wonders if you have a silver tongue as well. Can you entice as much as you insult?

        The Second-in-Command was now berating the vehicons at the back, along with some insecticons who decided to join in the fun.

        It wasn't Starscream's first time being humiliated in front of his troops anyway. This hardly affects his reputation.

        After lashing out, the seeker then proceeded to glare at you.

        "I'm afraid, Soundwave, that you'd have to find a _replacement_ for your pet!" The second-rate commander glowered threateningly, about to snatch you away from his servo.

        Countering Starscream's intimidation, Soundwave moved you away from the seeker's upcoming grasp, and stepped forward, causing for the Second-in-Command's vermillion optics to dilate with disbelief, as his gaze now focused on your guardian's blank visor. Was a measly human really worth the trouble?

        Gathering his faltered composure, the seeker tried again.

        "I-I am Second-in-Command and I demand you to hand me the human! You can find another substitute for Laserbeak!"

        Another stomp forward silenced the Second-in-Command, the impatient blue mech now showing his displeasure on how he referred his drone to be replaceable. Starscream then realized he trod on a sensitive subject, causing for him to cower slightly from the Third-in-Command's presence.

        Just as Soundwave was about to retaliate and put the seeker back to his place whether through "words" or action, you quickly interfered before he could even decide either of the options.

        "No, no, no, let him try," You told the navy-blue mech with a smug grin, causing for his blank face to look at you, emitting a curious aura. "I wanna see his face once he figures it out." You snickered, as Starscream looked at you with questioning optics.

        Soundwave contemplated a bit. Usually, he isn't one to give in to one's request-- especially to one who has no authority over him. It's not his requirement to humor you.

        "C'mon, Soundwave, let's mess with him. Have some fun, y'know?" You added, looking at him with glee and amusement.

        And it clicked. That's right; he has a duty to attend to, and it's being delayed by the unprecedented arrival of the seeker and the conversation that came along with it. In a war, there is no time to have fun; there is no time to enjoy, because it's not part of priorities. Only work. He has expectations to meet up to; he needs to make up to his mistakes. His services were delayed now as it is.

        He has to resume back to his duties.

        " _Soundwave, you are in charge of the human. Make sure to give it whatever it needs._ " Megatron's voice replayed from Soundwave's recorder, alerting Starscream that this particular human was under his lordship's decision and was entrusted to the most loyal follower he has.

        "I... see that this organic is under our lord's order," Starscream hissed with distaste, his hands folding behind his back strut before straightening himself. "I wish you the best of luck." The seeker seethed, sparing you one last glare before he left, with his troops following behind, presumably to report back to Lord Megatron.

        "Aww, would've been fun to see his reaction once he realizes he can't kill me." You hummed musingly, leaning your back on his curled-up digits, before wondering about the blue mech's inner thoughts. With his subtle movements and lack of facial expressions, it was hard to read him, and it would take a while for you to master his intents. Maybe, if you just continued being by his side, you'll understand him... eventually. Hopefully.

        "Is there anyone else with Starscream's personality you'd like to tell me about?" You pondered, attempting to start a discussion or at least a chat to distract you from the familiar clutches of boredom.

        Soundwave stayed quiet and continued walking, forcing you to dwell in the silence-- his pedesteps being the only sound reverberating within the walls of the Nemesis.

        You expected that.

        On the bright side, you understand one thing about Soundwave.

        He's not one for a conversation...


	6. Meet Knock Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternative Title: The Medic Being Part Of A Fandom Led To A Game Of 20 Questions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two updates in one day? Boom.

        You hadn't eaten nor drunk anything for a year... Years..?

        Or maybe just months? You've lost track of time within this world void of your purpose.

        However, your point still stands-- until you had consumed that shard of energon that led you to this mess, you literally didn't intake anything before that, as far as you remember. It's been a while since you've last seen any type of food. You even forgot what food tastes like or if you even had a favorite. Unfortunately, you didn't die from starvation nor dehydration, but on the bright side, you don't have to excuse yourself to the bathroom anymore.

        While you don't really miss eating, you do like the idea of being in a cafeteria, sitting with and talking to people on tables like a group of friends would. That's exactly the vibe you felt when you entered the mess hall with Soundwave.

        Well... at least _before_ the mentioned officer was acknowledged.

        As soon as your captor stepped foot in the room, the welcoming aura was replaced by a heavy blanket of perturbed stillness. All casual chattering of the vehicons quieted down immediately, as if the sight of the blue mech disabled their voice boxes. But that's really not the case. Or, at least, it was kind of close. The reason for their silence was due to the fact that Soundwave almost _never_ enters the mess hall; he often sends Laserbeak to retrieve his energon ration, but now that his drone is offline, he has to retrieve his fuel personally. And that made the lower caste Decepticons uneasy, knowing that the Communications Officer would be more... present compared to before.

        Soundwave has a dirt on every con-- no matter the ranks. The TIC's blackmails held no discrimination; no one was spared-- whether from a simple mishap of embarrassment or name-callings behind their superiors' backs, to conspiracies that may contribute to future rebellions. He was the Surveillance Lieutenant for a reason. His vigilance may be another factor why the vehicons often kept their distance. They don't necessarily hate their Chief Intelligence Officer (mainly because he is the least abusive of his power as a commander; in fact, he rather treats them as equals), but they certainly do dislike his blackmailing tendencies. Primus knows how much he has heard.

        Despite being silent, Soundwave has the most words to say.

        And now that he'll be going to the core of all gossips (the mess hall) whenever he has to, who knows how much they'll slip before they can even notice their Third-in-Command standing by the entrance? The silent mech was competent enough to be a cyberninja with his unfaltering silence; the fact he was a spy wasn't helping.

        Naturally, you didn't know what was going on-- on why the whole place suddenly turned quiet, therefore it would seem to be an unspoken rule for you to somehow make the _already_ thick atmosphere thicker.

        "Awk- _ward_ ~"

_This femme_ , all the vehicons in the room internally groaned within their processors. Leave it to you to make things more uncomfortable with the current situation.

        Soundwave merely nodded at them in acknowledgement, signalling for them to continue whatever they were doing before he came into the room. Can they actually do that? Well, if they have dignity or fear for their lives, then no. However, they still complied by hushing their conversations to themselves, trying to be as normal as possible, and overall stopped talking about the TIC's failed mission (which hopefully Soundwave didn't hear about).

        They eventually stopped gawking when Soundwave proceeded towards the stored energon cubes; grabbing two with his tendrils before leaving.

        While the vehicons weren't longer staring at the Third-in-Command, they still couldn't help but spare one curious glance towards you before the two of you were out of their vicinity.

        You couldn't help but voice out a remark.

        "Wow, they either don't like you or fear you. Which one is it?"

        Soundwave didn't care. 

        Whether he didn't care about your question or the vehicons' opinion of him, you didn't know.

* * *

        After the Communications Officer quickly stopped by what it seemed to be a computer room to drop the two glowing cubes off, he then exited the room as quickly as he entered it, only to bring you to what seemed to be another lab.

        The first thing-- or robot you saw, as soon as the door hatch opened, was a bright crimson red _mech_ (you figured out its meaning after Starscream claimed he was one), which was quite a contrast to the usually dark color schemes of the robots within the ship. His design was absolutely flawless-- no scratches, no dents; not even a single dirt. Just pure unblemished cherry red.

        "Well, this is... unprecedented..." The new character's honeyed voice trailed off, not sure how to react to his current predicament. "Is there something I could do for you?" He finally asked your custodian, unsure, causing for Soundwave to hand you over as his answer.

        Silence ensued for a few moments, the red mech not knowing what to interpret from the Third-in-Command's silent gesture. Was Soundwave handing you over or was he motioning that he was pertaining to you?

        "The human?" The medic tried to clarify, his scarlet eyes darting back and forth between you and Soundwave's visor. "I thought for sure you came to me in hopes to fix your... dents." You can feel this unnamed robot's discomfort, seeing that he's not used to a one-sided conversation. However, as soon as the red medic mentioned something about dents, you were quick to look at the direction of his optics.

        On Soundwave's slim forearms were worse than just common _dents_. While it may be true that there are small but noticeable concavity on his arm guards, there were visible scorch marks too. And of course, from the wounds, flowed the all-too familiar substance of energon; their blood.

        You never noticed until now. 

        Was that why the others were staring?

        Your custodian soon laid you down the metallic table, before pointing at you, his blank screen then showing some kind of unclear coordinates with additional data. The whole time, you stayed quiet, observing both robots; entertained by how they interacted, while at the same time, contemplating over the source of Soundwave's injuries.

        "You want me... to install a tracking device on this human?" The decepticon medic guessed, earning a nod from the silent commander. "Okay..? So you're not here for repai--" Before the red mech could even finish his inquiry, Soundwave left the room, the door closing with a 'hiss', leaving you with the supposed doctor of the ship.

        Once again, silence has found its way to hover over the med bay. That is, until you let out a chuckle, trying to rid of your mind over your captor's well-being.

        "That was the awkwardest one-sided conversation I've ever witnessed," You commented, earning an annoyed glare from the cherry red mech. "I bet I can beat that record with how many times I tried starting a conversation with him." You added, causing for one of the medic's optic ridges to raise at you with curiosity.

        "So, pray tell what brings you to our warship?" He started as he gathered materials from his supply storage, his back facing you, probably to begin Soundwave's assignment to him.

        "Oh y'know, alien abduction and the likes. You?" You replied casually, amusing the medic of your relaxed state of mind.

        "I'm the Medical Officer of this vessel," He shrugged, a bit proud at the mention of his position, as he looked for his collection of tracking devices he kept from his past... disassemblies. But considering your size, he'd have to recreate one to fit your physique, therefore he decided to go with a micro procedure as an alternative. "Y'know, for a human, you sure are taking this whole situation well,"

        "Apathy is one hell of a drug," You chuckled, causing for the mech to swiftly glance back at you, charmed by your... _unique_ personality.

        "Brave one, aren't you? You talk as if you're not afraid to die," The known dissector remarked with a smirk, as if challenging on how far your courage can go.

        "I don't really care what happens to me," You replied, as if death was an easy topic to dismiss.

        "Really now? Would you still be saying that once I do _this_?" He then faced you, his servo holding a needle with the size that could actually stab instead of prick. He then neared you, as you took no attempts of stepping back from his sudden close proximity. "I recommend you hold still. As much as I want to see humans writhe in pain, I'd rather not have any of your substances spill on my paint job."

        "Trust me when I say: you won't be seeing blood today," You reassured, your shoulders slacking as you handed over your arm.

        Eyeing you with momentary daze, the doctor recollected himself.

        "Who said I'll be injecting these nanites on your _arm_?" With that, the physician took hold of you, leaving only your head and some portions of your feet free, giving you no chance of struggling. " _This_ will be going on your neck." He drew the needle near the side of your nape, as you just stared at the silver liquid of the vial connected to the syringe the best you could, interested on what those contents could be. He said something about nanites, you believe. "I tried finding the smallest needle I have; this is it. Do worry, cause this is going to hurt... _a lot_."

        You were tempted to tell him of your circumstance, but then... experience is the _best_ teacher.

        _Tick!_

Confused of the needle's defiance towards prickling your skin, the red mech tried again.

        _Tick!_

        "Told ya." You quipped, a smirk plastering itself on your face. The medic's face plates scrunched up in irritation, his dermas now forming into a scowl.

        "Why!"

      _Tick!_

        "Won't!"

      _Tick!_

        "This!"

  _Tick!_

        "Work?!"

        His jabs were starting to get more powerful with each renewed attempt-- trying to at least dent your impenetrable skin. Until eventually, he stopped; his needle now dull and bent from the constant prodding at what seemed to be like metal walls. Pondering over what just happened, he jolted.

        "No way! Are Kryptonians actually _real_?!" He exclaimed before dropping you on the metallic berth, as you processed what he just said.

        "You... know Superman?" You asked, amused of his sudden cry of surprise.

        "Of course I do! It's mainstream within your human entertainment! I didn't think it was non-fiction!" Deciding to delight yourself with the given opportunity, you chose to indulge yourself with this mech's gullibility.

        "Ah, so my identity is now revealed. You got me. I'm actually Kryptonian," You playfully admitted, jazzing your hands for a more fun effect, while trying to remain unfazed within the situation. "I can't have you spreading this to your superiors, y'know? Who knows what would happen if they figured out if they have someone like Superman within their clutches,"

        "You wouldn't _dare_!" He growled, as he took a step back.

        "Want to test that theory?" You grinned smugly, as you hopped off the high berth, landing on your feet without scathing yourself. This only solidified the medic's claims towards his 'discovery'. "I can just fire a laser beam at you and get this over with," You shrugged, then let your hand stroke your chin, as if in thought. "Or, I can just beat you up with my super strength and have you suffer a slow and painful death due to how you treated me earlier." You tried to keep in a snicker as you checked your nails, attempting to restrain the urge to laugh from how his face looked at you with horror.

        "Y-you stand back!" Despite telling you this, it was the sports car that took a step back, as you took a step forward.

        "Hm, I guess I _can_ forgive you for being ignorant; laser eyes for a quick demise it is!" You declared; bits of laughter escaping your throat, as you directed your line of sight towards the bot in front of you. 

        You then cornered the doctor of the ship towards a corner, as he took every futile means to create distance from you. Then, everything was still-- except for the trembling mech, who was waiting for his supposed 'demise'. With his optics shut, he expected the worst.

        "PEW!"

        He shrieked.

        "Huh?" Feeling that nothing had hit him, he fluttered his optics open, then gawked when he saw your hunched form that definitely showed all signs of amusement.

        "Haha-- _hooh_ boy! It's been ages since I've laughed like that!" You wheezed out, then knelt down, trying to recollect yourself.

        "Aren't you a little _sadist_? If you're gonna do it, at least do it _swiftly_!" The physicist huffed. Slowly, you stood up, trying to squeeze out the laughter you have left within your gut.

        "Dude, I'm not actually a Kryptonian. I was just messing with y--" As soon as you confirmed that you weren't part of a fictional race, he was quick to stomp you with his pede in such blind rage and panic, before being dawned with the realization that Soundwave would be needing you. As quickly as he stepped on you, the way he removed his pede was quite a contrast.

        He started off slowly, already grimacing at the image of your grotesque corpse that popped into his processor. However, he was shocked and internally grateful that he didn't detect the feel of warm liquid that should be dripping from his pede.

        "I guess I deserved that," You sighed, making the medic jump from your unexpected... survival. "I'm also guessing that you must be confused beyond comprehension." Standing up, you faced the doctor as best as you can by looking up to his optics, maintaining eye contact. "Don't worry, I'm still not Kryptonian." This seemed to lower his guard a bit.

        Hesitantly, he picked you up and placed you on the medical berth, probably expecting an explanation. When you didn't speak, he opted to ask you as an attempt to receive answers to explain whatever the pits was going on. However, before he could even begin, you already started.

        "Look, I know this all seems weird and whatnot, but since you're the first bot I can actually hold a conversation with where I don't get either threats, silence or insults as replies, I might as well make the most of it." Then remembering his assignment, you added. "While you're doing whatever you're doing, let's play twenty questions."

        "Alright. That I can do." It was obvious he was still shaken over the events that took place before this very moment; he easily complied. It was so... surreal. Here you are, an indestructible human with a bunch of mechanical aliens in a warship. But then again, you might not be human in the first place. So, naturally, his first question was: "Who and what are you?"

        "That's actually two questions, but I guess it could count as one." You commented before finally responding to his question. "My name's (Y/n), and I have no idea what I am."

        That answer didn't clear up his confusion at all. In fact, it only spurred more questions.

        Nevertheless, he continued to his working table, his back, once again, facing you.

        "How about you? Who and what are you?" You asked, as he fumbled around his equipment, trying to find a way to somehow inject the tracking device within your systems; not wanting to give you the capability to remove it. But then, because of your impenetrable armor, he'd have to find other alternatives.

        "My designation is Knock Out, and my specie is called Cybertronians from a planet called Cybertron."

        "Oooh, so it really _is_ the name of your kind too. I've heard of it being mentioned as your language, though." You remarked, before sitting by the edge of the metallic bed, watching the red mech work.

        "My turn." Knock Out declared, as he welded some materials together with careful accuracy. "Are you really invincible?"

        "If I wasn't, I should've been dead a long time ago. I mean it when I say I tried everything." You answered frankly, causing the medic to hum in amusement at this. That's a no to injecting on your insides then, specifically somewhere within your mouth.

        "After the stunts you've pulled, no kidding," He said, followed with a quick chuckle. Smiling, you continued, seeing that the once-panicked medic is now warming up to you.

        "So... you watched Superman, huh?" You mused, your voice holding a teasing tone to it.

        "Just so you know, I watch other human entertainment as well!" Knock Out defended, believing that it would ease up his embarrassment somehow. "Y' _know_?! Like that movie called Avengers, and that series called Walking Dead or something-- I have lots of spare time, okay?! But this doesn't mean I _like_ humans!" He spat, before grumbling his next question. "I suppose you at least watch some shows too, don't you?"

        "Well, yeah dude. I don't live under a rock," You snickered, a bit amused that even alien life would be interested in human films, despite the culture differences, which brings you to your next question: "Why are you guys on Earth?" As much as you want to ask him if he belongs to one of your fandoms, you need to have your priorities aligned.

        "Hmm..." Knock Out thought of his choice of words wisely. With their reputation remaining a mystery to you, he doesn't know if he should put in a good word for his faction, or just simply let you know of the horrors his kind has done. "Let's just say it's part of the Decepticon cause." He chose to play it vague. "Where did you come from?"

        "Earth." You chirped. Two can play this game, you thought devilishly to yourself, as Knock Out caught on what you just did. 

        "Yes, I can see that." The medic muttered to himself, eyeing your disheveled appearance and obviously stained clothes from the dirt of the mentioned planet.

        "What's a Decepticon?" As soon as you inquired this, the doctor was quick to disregard his past thoughts about you.

        "A faction that strives for equality." He answered easily; his tone showing a gleam of an emotion you couldn't decipher.

        "A faction? You mean there are sides? Sides for what?" You asked, your curiosity getting the better of you.

        "Ah, ah, ah; it's my turn~" He sang, causing for you to huff at his fair play. "Are there more of your kind?" And like that, your demeanor darkened, and the robot remained oblivious towards the change of your aura, until you spoke up.

        "... No." Your answer was simple; straightforward, and yet the medic was quick to pick up the animosity within the use of your tone.

        "I... see." The physician continued to work, his optics darting back and forth between his work and you, checking your well-being, before focusing back to the recreation of yet another design of a tracking device. 

        You can't swallow the nanites since your so-called stomach acid might hinder their performance or just destroy them overall. Besides, you can just easily throw them up, Knock Out pondered carefully, not wanting to displease his superiors.

         _Why in the pits can't Shockwave do this? Wasn't he the new head scientist of the ship? Tch, to be stripped down of my former title just to be some kind of lab assistant; the circuitry of that guy_ , Knock Out thought begrudgingly to himself, a bit bothered with the fact that he's now stuck with a tense atmosphere with you, before being snapped back to the present by your new question.

        "Why do you dislike humans?" Oh, that's right. It was your turn now. Knock Out thought for sure that you'd like to stop conversing after the last question. But this time, it was Knock Out's turn to have his composure faltered with the reminder of his good friend's fate.

        "My partner was experimented by them." Came his reply, his tone holding no filter for his hatred for the specie mentioned. 

        _Was experimented_.

        You can take a good guess on how that ended.

        "Hm, well that's one thing we have in common..." You uttered loud enough for him to hear, which spiked his curiosity.

        "In common? You mean you hate humans or were you experimented on too?" The medic trailed off, wishing that you'd complete his inquiry for him. 

        "... Pass."

        _Wait, you can do that?_ , Knock Out asked to himself, surprised. Just as he was about to exclaim that what you did wasn't fair, he then thought that you wouldn't spill either way, unless you're willing to share. He can't force you to. But he guessed he deserved to ask another question that can be answered.

        "How long were you aware of your... circumstance?" You thought back to your first memory when harm came to you with futile attempts, digging within your past.

        "Back then when I was tasered." You answered, your eyes now staring boringly at the ground as you swayed your legs at the edge of the berth. The mad doctor was curious on how that turned out-- or how you even got to that situation in the first place, and decided to ask that question later. For now, it was your turn to ask your question.

        "What's the deal with Soundwave?" The topic of your ask was a bit... well... _unexpected_. Because of the topic of threats, your mind immediately drifted to when their leader tried to eliminate you, which then led you under the hands of a visor-wearing mech.

        "Why are you suddenly curious of our Third-in-Command?" Knock Out asked, one of his optic ridges raising suspiciously. At the mention of your custodian's title, you were then aware why the vehicons were easily intimidated by him.

        "Megatron assigned him to be my care-taker, and I might as well know what I'm dealing with. Like I told you, my attempts of a conversation with him are awkward, because he _never_ replies."

        "Fair point." The red physician remarked, quickly reminiscing the times he tried to make the Surveillance Lieutenant talk, along with a few... others who tried the same thing. "Well, he's our Third-in-Command, like I mentioned before, and on top of that, our Surveillance Lieutenant, and Communications Officer; in other words, he's what you can call a nerd--"

        Knock Out immediately cut himself off, almost grazing his digits with his scorching welder, when he realized he just casually insulted his third-rate commander in front of his charge!

        "Um, you wouldn't happen to be a tattle tail, right?" The medic asked sheepishly, turning to take a quick glance at you.

        "That depends~" You chirped, as the physician frowned at your... behavior.

        "Our TIC is also known for his blackmailing tendencies, a common trait between the two of you, apparently," Knock Out grumbled, as you listened with interest. "Overall, he's Megatron's all-time reliable right-hand man."

        "Go on," You encouraged for him to continue. "Unless you want me spilling something." You threatened playfully, despite knowing that there's a huge chance that Soundwave wouldn't give a flying fuck about Knock Out's opinion on him. You basically depended on Knock Out's fear over him, hoping it was strong enough to egg him on.

        "He's also committed to his vow of silence, hence why he never talks," The physician continued, as if he lost a losing battle. "Never heard his voice in all my life cycles. Wouldn't matter anyway. If he were to speak, there would be no emotion to it. He deleted his emotions to process data faster, I've heard." He added, before finally finishing his little project. 

        Wow... Talk about dedication. And _also_ wow, it'd be really handy if humans can delete emotions too.

        "What about his face?"

        "If he's hiding it, then there must be a good reason why. " Knock Out responded, shivers crawling on his back struts at the memory when Soundwave damaged his visor from that autobot, Wheeljack. Being the medic, he was assigned to fix the cracked lens. While he didn't actually see the blue mech's face, he was crept out by how vigilant Soundwave was on hiding his face. He just simply removed his visor while turning back, before giving Knock Out the cracked glass. "The mech was a former gladiator. I can only imagine the scars he gained from his past tournaments. Or maybe his visor really _is_ his face; I wouldn't know. Never seen it." He added, before walking towards you, then strapping something on your neck to which you didn't resist from.

        "He doesn't seem to be the type to fight. He's creepy and intimidating, sure, but a fighter? A gladiator, no less," You didn't believe it at first, but then, Soundwave had his titles for a reason. The more you thought about it, the more plausible the claims came to be.

        "Trust me, Soundwave was and is still a fearsome fighter. He didn't place second next to Megatron for nothing." Knock Out commented, before checking his data pad.

        "But he's so _thin_! And Megatron's so _thicc_!  _How_?!" Despite of your human lingo, Knock Out managed to piece out the context.

        "Soundwave had a different armor back then-- bigger, most definitely. With all his symbiotes, it makes sense." The medic was so immersed in talking about the mysterious Third-in-Command, he didn't realize he was giving you free passes on the game of twenty questions. "Alright, the tracking device is all set. Zero percent casualties, and all made from limited resources! I am just _that_ good."

        "Except the time you failed injec--"

        "That was a different kind of tracking device!" Knock Out exclaimed, before pointing at your collar. "Usually, prisoner tracking devices are within the bot; not outside in plain sight for them to mangle with. So, I created a special case for you."

        "I'd say thanks, but then I remembered I was a prisoner," You snickered, before going back to the former topic. "You said something about symbiotes? You mean something like from Spiderman?"

        "No, _our_ kind of symbiotes. They're kinda like drones, but I guess in human terms, you call them pets." He expounded, as you took in a new set of information, then it clicked. 

        "Oh! Kinda like Soundwave's bird-drone thingy!"

        "Yes, Laserbeak." The medic confirmed, before continuing. "They're like an extension of ourselves; having a piece of our sparks divided to share with our exostructure." Then, Knock Out added, before continuing to ramble on. "Just so you know, a spark is the equivalent of your human hearts."

        _Laserbeak, huh?_ , You thought to yourself, trying to be familiar with the name. With how the medical expert explained a symbiote's connection to its host, you couldn't help but wonder if your guardian felt extreme negative emotions over losing his creation, despite deleting his feelings. By the sound of it, it's like a near equivalent to a child. And losing a child would feel...

        "--devastating, if one were to die." Knock Out finally finished, as you contemplated over his explanation and applying it to Soundwave's current circumstance. Before you could even ask the medic of your custodian's reaction towards Laserbeak's demise, the med bay's door opened with a hiss, alerting you and Knock Out of the newcomer's presence.

        "Ah, Soundwave, right on time!" And with that, Knock Out immediately handed you over to your captor, along with the data pad that correlates to the tracking device. "Just download the programming from this data pad, and you should be able to connect your drives to the human's tracking device." The TIC was quick to do just that-- already reaching a hundred percent download within a few nanokliks with the use of his feelers.

        "Bye Knock Out! Also, really love your look; it's really shiny!"

        And like that, Soundwave took you away, leaving Knock Out alone in the med bay once again.

        It's been a while since the medic blabbered on like that; to have a casual conversation that doesn't relate to 'work'.   

        ... Really made him miss his big guy.

        "Breakdown would've loved to meet a personality like yours ."

        With a smile and a satisfied ex-vent, Knock Out proceeded to arrange his used equipment, before realizing something.

        Hm... The game never reached to twenty questions...


	7. How Curious

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternative Title: For A Moment There, Soundwave Thought You Were A Character From Twilight.
> 
> Another Alternative Title: Soundwave Is Internally A Tsundere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Third update in a row? Damn, I'm on fire. This is the last update for the week, I swear xD

        Apparently, the computer room you passed by earlier before entering the med bay was Soundwave's quarters; you just didn't recognize it to be one's bedroom due to the lack of personal customization. Like the other rooms within the ship, it just looked like a workplace. The only thing that made it distinguishable from the other stations was that the hacker's room in particular has walls of computer monitors-- each having its own distinct function, but with only one common objective: to get tasks done. 

        While you may not have visited the other residents' rooms within the Nemesis yet, you have this gut feeling that only Soundwave has this kind of room: a techno-phobic's worst nightmare.

        Leaning on one of the electric blue cubes that your captor retrieved earlier, you distracted yourself by listening to the Third-in-Command's diligent tapping on the keyboard that was merely a few meters away from you; each set of clicks having a sound responding to them-- the chimes telling whether the algorithms succeeded or nullified. There would've been messages displayed too if only you'd look at the screen where Soundwave was working on. Instead, you looked down at your fingers, counting on how many times the third-rate commander would type before the computer would buzz either from accomplishment or error. Most were errors, you noted. Soundwave would press harder as a subtle tantrum from frustration.

        _Twen' three, twen' four, twen' five, twen' six-- ERROR. One, two, three, four, five-- ERROR. One, two..._

        You were beyond bored to go this far just to entertain yourself.

        If the hacker were to misinterpret your intentions, it would've seemed like you were counting his failures-- mocking him. However, that would never be the case, seeing that the lieutenant was too absorbed with his work to even give you a glance. His work, like instructed, was to find out your origins. Considering he's been standing there for hours now (and leaving you with your boredom), you could affirm that he still has not found a single trace. You didn't even leave a footprint behind within the strings of codes in social network feeds to give him a clue.

        No connections. No reputation. No identity.

    _A nobody._

        Soundwave was forced to start from scratch. You can only guess that the both of you would be stuck here for the whole day... At least, until Shockwave would come fetch you and begin with his experiment, but that's for tomorrow.

        You thought it would be nice if you can talk to Knock Out again. He was the only Cybertronian that can offer a pleasant conversation, so far as you've experienced. Unlike a certain, stiletto-enthusiast or a short-tempered leader... or even the visor-wearing mech.

        Speaking of the latter, you glanced at your busy custodian, eyeing his forearms that were now repaired--clean of his energon, and buffed back to its original shine. Apparently, the commander chose to be tended by the ship's head scientist, Shockwave. It wasn't that hard to put two-and-two together, considering that only the medic and the scientist have the right equipment and knowledge to offer medical care in this warship. You guessed that Soundwave trusted the purple mech more than your red friend. Or it was for the time convenience, which was practical of him.

        Thinking of the cherry red mech, the collar Knock Out attached to you was kinda tight. If you were to need air or blood circulation to live, you would've been dead within minutes after the medic clipped it onto you. It's a bit hard to crane your head downwards too with how constricted it is. Basically, it's a total pain in the ass.

        However, despite being looked down upon by the inhabitants of the ship (you don't really know Soundwave's opinion on humans), Knock Out was easily the only companion you made. He mentioned he likes human entertainment-- perhaps human culture too-- a good bond to start with-- but he hates humans in itself. And yet, the physician had a casual chat with you earlier (even though you made a fool out of him with your stupid prank). The only assumption you can make was that he doesn't consider you a human. After all, you did tell him you don't know what you are.

        You guessed Knock Out was right to assume that. 

        You are not human.

        But then again, you certainly looked like one.

        Maybe, you _were_  once a human.

        Or you are still a human.

        Or there's a possibility you were never human, in the first place...

        ...

        You stopped counting, Soundwave noticed. Tired, perhaps? Or do you lack nutrition? Humans do need to refuel a lot within a day, according to his past researches regarding the planet's inhabitants. You need something called 'food', but your systems managed to coexist with energon, hence why he grabbed two energon cubes: one for himself and one for you. He theorized that it should have the same effects on you, as it has to them. 

        Too preoccupied with your thoughts, you didn't even notice the Third-in-Command's postponed typing session. He then walked towards you with his silent pede-falls, before observing you. You were distracted with your thoughts, he noted-- the reason why you stopped whatever you were doing. About what, though? He might never know. So, he interrupted it.

        The moment he poked your side with one of his slender digits, you were definitely back to reality.

        "Almighty fuck!"

        Your profanity is quite excessive, Soundwave thought to himself. That seems to be your reaction for everything: swearing. Your emotions tend to have you prone into cursing at whatever displeases you. According to his research, that kind of trait on a femme is not desirable within human's social behavior. With that said, wouldn't it be logical for you to want to be desired? Why stray from acceptance, if humans are social creatures? Curious.

        "Oh, it's you. You stopped typing. Does that mean you found something?" You asked as you sat upright, eager to know about any of his findings regarding you. However, the shake of his helm extinguished your interest, causing for you to slump your shoulders and lean back. "Oh... Then, what do you want?"

        The lieutenant subtly pointed at the cube you are currently leaning on, before pointing back at you.

        "What? You... want me to drink it?" You clarified, as he then gave you a stiff nod. "Why? What is it?"

        Huh, for sure the officer thought you would have figured it out already. But then again, perhaps you didn't know that energon crystals can come in liquid form.

        " _\--energon?_ " That was your voice. Except, that didn't come from your mouth. At least, not just now. He did the same thing he did with Megatron's voice: answer questions. And if you remembered correctly, that was back when you asked them what energon was. They never did answer your question, but you do have some basic understandings of it: it's their blood; that's all you know. Okay, so that may be a bit _too_ basic.

        But you got to ask: does Soundwave just record voices whenever he has to?... Or does he record _everything_ he hears?

        This guy is one creepy motherfucker.

        However, that topic is for another time. Right now, you just confirmed to yourself that Soundwave wants you to drink liquidized energon.

        "You think I'm a vampire ‘cause I’m indestructible and now you want me to drink _your_ blood?" You looked at him incredulously, before Soundwave's visor lit up, visibly searching within the internet of what a vampire was in front of you. "Oh my god." Chuckling, you found this whole culture-shock thing hilarious.

        Once he was done with his mini-research, he replied to your inquiry with a shake of his head. However, he did ask you in turn if you were the mentioned mythical creature by pointing at a picture of the legendary blood-sucker on his screen, before pointing at you.

        "No, I'm not a vampire. I don't suck blood." You clarified, keeping in another chuckle that threatened to escape your lips.

        Well, there goes Soundwave's theory on finally guessing what you are. But then again, he should have expected that. What folklore earthling creature would have cybertronian parts anyway? While he found the mythical being unfamiliar, he _does_ find the fluid-draining concept of it familiar.

        "Besides, energon doesn't really harm me in any way so what's the point?"

        " _\--energon?-- not--blood--power source--_ " Your voice was played yet again, however, another voice followed right after it, forming a chopped sentence-- the monotonous baritone pitch you recognized to be Shockwave's.

        _Ah, so the crystals can turn liquid_ , you finally realized. _So_ that's _what they eat_.

        "Listen, I don't know if you got the hint from my past conversations, but let me summarize it for you: I _want_ to die. I ate one energon shard only because I thought the thing could kill me, but ironically it does the opposite-- it's a god damn power source. What in the fucking odds, right?" Well, technically, energon _is_ poisonous to humans, it just so happened that you weren't exactly human.

        Even so, what you wish to do with your life was none of his concerns.

        However, Soundwave couldn't let you lose nutrition for the sake of future experiments. They need you in top condition, and you refusing to take your ration like an immature sparkling was not helping.

        The blue mech directed his pointing digit at the cube, then towards you again.

        "Look, if you're worried I'll die if I don't eat, don't bother. I can't die from either starvation or dehydration; I tried. You're looking at a human who hasn't eaten for several months now."

        Soundwave stared, persistent to stay until you refuel. He’s not going to take your word for it-- risks are automatically out of the equation. He will attempt to reduce all possible errors. Even if your claims were true (which were yet to be proven), this was just a precaution just in case. After all, if the results of the upcoming experiments were faulty and the reason for that mistake was your malnourishment, who was to be blamed for such a waste of time and resources? Begrudgingly, it would be the Third-in-Command.

        “Alright, fine. Whether I drink it or not wouldn’t make much of a difference, anyway. I guess if it makes you feel better…” You trailed off before scooping some of the cube’s glowing contents with the cup of your hands, before drinking.

        _Huh_ , _that tasted a lot better than the crystal_. You thought, before scooping more.

        Finally. If you were to stall one more time, Soundwave would’ve thought of force-feeding you to get this over with. Primus, were you such a handful.

        Although, the third-rate commander made a mental note that you'll need a smaller container if you were to consume energon more efficiently... And something for you to clean yourself with. With your charred garments and messy (h/c) keratin on your head, he figured you wouldn't like to stay in that condition.

        “Hehe, y’know, if I didn’t know any better, I would’ve thought you actually cared for me~” You teased, a smirk making its way upon your energon-stained lips.

        On second thought, he'll just have to settle with the smaller container for now. He wouldn't want you to misunderstand his regard towards your grooming as a care for your well-being. Well, technically, he should care, but only because he was required to. He simply doesn't want you to think that you have a minuscule chance of him growing attached to you. He will dispose of you, if so instructed by his lordship.

        The silent lieutenant didn’t react to your jest. However, he did reply.

        “ _Soundwave, you are in charge of the human. Make sure to give it whatever it needs._ ” As if to mock you, the TIC replayed Megatron's instruction, reminding you of your purpose on this ship; it's anything but leisure.

        "Right. Like I said, _if_ I don't know any better," You quipped, with a small smile. "I'm well-aware you only care for a few peeps in this ship, and Laserbeak." You half-expected him to ask you how you know of his drone's designation, but he didn't address it.

        Frankly, Soundwave just thought you might have heard it from the rumors circulating around the vessel, so he didn't care much.

        Satisfied with your compliance, he turned away from you and walked back to his computer with the intent to type away for the whole day yet again, searching for records that may not have existed in the first place.

        "Hey, Soundwave!" You called out, making the blue mech pause on his stride. "Aren't you gonna drink too?" You asked seemingly innocent enough, as you pointed at the second energon cube. "Take a break, dude. Don't you guys have those?"

        Silence... 

        _Break_? Since when was the last time he took it easy? The last time he paused himself from his duties? When was the last time Soundwave took a _break_?

        Simple answer, really. From the moment he turned against the council he was once from, he never took a _break_. From his continuous routine of working, why stop now? So many things to do; so many things to accomplish-- how could he cease his responsibilities if he wishes to fulfill his goals of becoming a Decepticon in the first place?  

        Soundwave went back to the table you were seated on, then released one of his tendrils to retrieve a cube of the blue fuel. You were finally going to confirm to yourself if he has a mouth or not, because honestly, for all you know, that blank screen could be his very face, like Knock Out theorized earlier. While you were aware of his vow of silence, you still thought of the possibility of Soundwave's vocals coming from his visor. You didn't see Shockwave having a mouth, yet he can still speak. Who are you to say Soundwave won't be any different?

        Caught off-guard, you were surprised that the TIC used one of his feelers to consume the liquidized energon, extinguishing your hope of ever seeing him at least _lift_ his visor. All gone with just one dip of his tendril. With that, he returned the empty container next to your own ration of energon (that still has yet to reach half).

        "Aw, I was hoping for a lunch conversation, y'know? That is, if it's still lunch. But I'm leaning more on dinner. I have no idea what time it is, so I'm just guessing."

        Just when will the idea of him never talking to you drill into your stubborn processor? But then again, the thought of humans being social creatures crossed his mind. Your kind strives from either entertainment or social life; a secondary need, if you will. Looks like he'll have to find a way to provide at least either of the two. Social life can be possible, knowing that you and Knock Out have been friendly with each other. However, that would mean either Knock Out visiting his private quarters often, or you would have to remain in the med bay more often than the lieutenant's side.

        Neither were good options.

        Entertainment, it is.

        ...

        You lightly frowned and stopped drinking your ration, when Soundwave chose to ignore you by going back to work, making you lose your non-existent appetite for the electric blue substance. Frankly speaking, because he's the Surveillance Lieutenant, you figured that he should know most of the information regarding your unspoken questions that were yet to be heard. You want to ask him questions that you didn't get to ask Knock Out. So much curiosity.

        That can be said for the both of you; two beings wishing to know more about the other, but neither were willing to share. Or perhaps both of you were, but neither had the initiative to do so.

        You asked questions before, but he didn't answer a single one. Perhaps that's because he was uninterested with answering your questions, or that your questions were deemed to be irrelevant or unimportant.

        If that's the case, then, what the hell does the seemingly emotionless Cybertronian have interest in answering?

        Looking around the room as if seeking a clue, you spotted his drone lying on a metallic berth. It was repaired, with its wings reattached to its frame, and energon no longer leaking from the hole that was now sealed. However, despite its physical condition looking better, it still remained in the same state you once found it in: unmoving.

        You don't understand.

        If machines were fixed, shouldn't they be functional again? Or... were they mortal like all organic creatures, except they don't decay, but rust? As if like, they need some kind of life force to live... Something like a soul...

        A spark-- the heart of a Cybertronian, you remember Knock Out mentioning. You wonder, if their sparks are their souls too. Do they have an alien equivalent of heaven and hell?... A god and a devil?

        You didn't realize you were staring intently at Laserbeak's husk, taking in every question that pops in within your head whenever you ask yourself how some things work. How Laserbeak _functions_. So much inquiries, and yet such limited answers. And eventually, you came to the thought of what would it be like to be one of them?

        And then, a green light.

        _Ping!_

Soundwave was quick to look at you direction as soon as he heard a notification that didn't come from one of his monitors. The sound was unprecedented, and definitely took him by surprise. However, what really stole his attention was that you just literally scanned his offline drone with your optics.

        Did you just do what he thinks you did..?

        Did you just install his exostructure as your alt mode?


	8. Feel, Fail, Repeat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternative Title: Emotions Are Soundwave's Bane Of Existence. Hence, The Most Logical Solution Is To Delete Them.

        Anger, annoyance, confusion, mixed emotions Soundwave should express-- the emotions he should _feel_ from the given situation, and yet chose not to waste time to comprehend them, and instead rushed to the Head Scientist's laboratory to re-examine you, leaving non-progressive workload within his hab-suite. Hence, the Third-in-Command easily convinced himself that his spark weighed heavy due to emitting the emotion of disappointment towards himself for not being vigilant towards you. 

        Right after you presumably ' _scanned_ ' Laserbeak, Soundwave stomped towards you-- the closest equivalent of him yelling out of anger. While you weren't really afraid of him, you flinched when he suddenly took hold of you without warning.

        So, you were, once again, within the lieutenant's servo, but this time, he wasn't cradling you with caution like he used to. Now, he just grabbed you swiftly and harshly like an action figure, with his digits wrapped tightly around your torso as he speed-walked towards his destination-- lacking his usual calm demeanor, but never his grace. Even if his movements were rushed.

        Despite having knowledge that he deleted his emotions, you couldn't help but ponder over the possibility that his emotional case wasn't all that black-and-white. Because, if you didn't know any better, he definitely showed signs of the emotion of being _pissed_. While you had trouble reading his intentions due to his lack of facial expressions, you were, at least, eighty percent sure he's angry at you.

        Soon enough, you arrived at the laboratory, with Soundwave being quick to approach and interrupt the one-eyed cybertronian's work, and gestured for you to be re-scanned by simply pointing at the data pads that held your statistical records.

        "Soundwave, your intrusion is unprecedented and, candidly, unnecessary. The human's check-up is until the next solar cycle," The scientist started, his optic quickly glancing curiously at you, who was still in the same unkempt condition. Despite supposedly emitting displeasure, Shockwave's tone remained as it usually is: monotonous. "...That is, if that were what you came in for."

        The Communications Officer then projected a memory from his processor on his visor, showing a newfound discovery of you being able to scan-- specifically, scan his deceased drone. And if his theory were to be proven correct, then you might even have the ability to transform-- the signature cybertronian feat. With this hypothesis, and you being able to read their language, they may finally confirm on what your origins may possibly be. 

        "Yes, the results did, after all, confirm for it to have a t-cog. It is only logical for it to be equipped with a built-in scanner of its own." Shockwave thought aloud with cognizance, before addressing you (with you not failing to note that he still labels you like a non-sentient object). "Were you aware of this?" 

        "That I can scan and have that tea-bag thing? Not until today," You replied honestly, shrugging your shoulders, but with limited movement from the silent officer's tight grip, it was barely visible.

        "It's called a t-cog," The scientist corrected, before continuing. "A vital organ that gives our specie the ability to transform." He expounded, as he prepared the examination instrument. "Perhaps now would be the right time to test the capabilities of your anomalous anatomy, while your experience is still recent." He then gestured Soundwave to place you on the metallic berth, to which the Intelligence Chief obeyed, but not in the manner you expected him to.

        Earlier at the med bay, the lieutenant simply plopped you on the flat steel, with you landing on it without stumbling. However, what just happened was quite a contrast. He just tossed you on the table, and if you weren't imagining it, you were sure he put some force behind that throw-- even if it were minuscule. While the action didn't hurt you, you were sure as hell taken aback.

        Yeah, he's definitely mad at you.

        "You may leave and proceed with your duties, estimating that this process may be time-consuming. I'll have a vehicon deliver the specimen to your quarters, as soon as I complete the experimentation." And Shockwave didn't seem to catch this, which made you believe that your guardian was subtle with what he did, and his intention was obvious only to you.

        Soundwave merely nodded at the scientist's instruction before leaving; the lab doors closing with a 'hiss', leaving you alone with your thoughts and a nonchalant science practitioner who has no concept of ethics.

        The computers around you whirred to life, as Shockwave continued to type on the holographic keyboard, preparing the scanner. Meanwhile, you just cooperatively lied down the huge berth, having the initiative to go with the usual protocol. You simply looked around the lab as you waited.

        The first thing that caught your interest was his lack of a left servo and, in place of it, was a cannon. Probably still futile to kill you, in case you were thinking of that certain thought. You decided to cut through the silence with your infamous curiosity.

        "Hey Shockwave, why do you have a cannon for a hand?" You suddenly asked, before a blue light scanned your body, repeating for a few cycles, before eventually stopping.

        "... Due to a series of unfortunate events," He simply replied, as he read over the results of your recent scan.

        "What kind of unfortunate events?" You continued pestering, while staring up at the ceiling.

        "None of which concerns you." He deadpanned, causing for you to internally groan. Soundwave and Shockwave are the least expressive robots in this whole ship-- you might even mistake them for being related due to their similar anti-social behavior. Yes, that, and definitely not their name's similarity. Wait, are they _not_ related?

        "Hey, are you and Soundwave related by--"

        "No."

        Well, that answered your curiosity. However, another question ebbed at the back of your head. You don't even need a long explanation; you just need a confirmation.

        "Can you guys really delete your emotions?" Where the subject of your questions was headed was... unaccounted for, but definitely can be considered to be reasonable, being aware of who your guardian is.

        "No." Ah, so your suspicions were correct. Surprisingly, Shockwave continued. "To rid of our emotions is to rid of our sparks. Our processors' roles with emotions is to merely just identify them; not produce them, and it is entirely voluntary for our specie whether to comprehend them or disregard them." So like, they can still feel, and they can't do anything about it-- similar to a human's case. However, they can practically disable their emotional comprehension, hence they can feel, but don't exactly know what those feelings are, because it's within their option whether to identify them or not.

        You wondered what it's like to be in that state. To feel angry, but you don't know that you're angry. To feel sad, but you don't know that you're sad. To be happy, but you don't know that you're happy-- all you can do is feel, but not understand. Is that why Soundwave doesn't elicit a reaction? Is it because he simply doesn't know how to react?

        All this time, he had just been guessing on what expression to show, and just went through what he thought was _logical_ to do. However... the anger he showed you earlier felt genuine. As if he knew what reaction to show. Or maybe, he _subconsciously_ knew what reaction to show. As far as you've observed, he's only like that when it came to the topic of his drone. 

       ' _This won't do',_ you internally sighed. You then tried to ignore Soundwave's condition by simply focusing on the clothing you were playing with. You're honestly impressed that the shirt as a whole managed to survive a plasma blast, save for some scorched fringes and some holes here and there. It must be made out of some sort of resistant material. Wouldn't expect any less from the lab you've... escaped from. 

        "According to the newly recorded data, the energon within your system did not decrease." Shockwave informed you, interrupting your thoughts while you were playing with the burnt edges of your plain white shirt. "But that may only be because you refueled earlier. However, your t-cog is now fully functional, now that you've chosen your alternate mode."

        "You mean I get to turn into Laserbeak?" Sitting up, you looked at the scientist with genuine curiosity.

        "Theoretically, yes, if your t-cog were to function typically. However, it is quite a phenomenon on how you can adapt your being to one of a living specie; specifically, another cybertronian-- something which is considered to be beyond logic." He affirmed, before stepping in front of you. "Now, to confirm my hypothesis, can you transform?"

        "Umm, okay, but aren't I made of skin? I don't have screws and bolts to bend to my will, so I'm not really sure how to do that." You told him frankly, causing for his optic to dim with unknown emotion.

        "Nor do I. Your case is exceptional, therefore, I have yet to know how you function. Unless you can provide valuable data, I cannot aid you." The cybertronian openly admitted, as you stared at your hands-- trying. There's a possibility you're not organic, you remembered. Or perhaps, you used that reminder to cheer yourself on, hoping that it can help you motivate your body to cooperate with the logic you were going with.

        "Okay, so let's say I _can_ transform. How do you guys do it?" You questioned, as Shockwave was rather pleased that you were compliant.

        "It comes naturally for us, as when we are created, we are immediately taught to transform. It is simply instinctive." Well, that didn't help. You don't know what's supposed to feel natural-- hell, _you_ aren't even natural. "However, if I can put it into words, I can describe the sensation through the question of ' _what would it be like to transform into something?_ '"

        Another moment has passed...

        As did another attempt.

        _C'mon, turn into Laserbeak; turn into Laserbeak; at least look like a god damn bird! Fucking hell!_

        You tried-- you really did, but it's just impossible to transform with _flesh_! Or what you think is flesh. Are you really made out of flesh? You have no fucking idea. Can you really shift forms? You don't think so. But then, you have a t-cog; why else would you carry an organ that has such a specific use to change form? You don't understand _anything_ about yourself.

        "Nope! Can't do it. Sorry." You simply gave up, just like that. What can you do? You can't defy organic nature. What are you gonna do? Break your bones? Hah! You would if you could, and hopefully get internal bleeding. But you can't. Tragic.

        You expected Shockwave to berate you for your failure, but you were genuinely surprised when he didn't even raise his voice at you. 

        "Very well. We can continue tomorrow. For now, I have yet to find you some... intrinsic motivation."

        Something tells you that this bot has a plan. It shouldn't bother you, but for some reason, it did-- it unnerved you, even, but you chose to be nonchalant about it.

        Shockwave then called in a vehicon to fetch and deliver you to Soundwave, as promised.

* * *

        It's been a while since the assigned foot soldier left you within the Third-in-Command's quarters. The vehicon also told him of Shockwave's reports, emphasizing on your failure of transforming. The fact that Soundwave occasionally watched the muted surveillance feed of the lab (while multi-tasking on other duties) during your testing did not help your case. The officer basically felt like he wasted the Head Scientist's time.

        So far as to how Soundwave reacted, the usually silent lieutenant was giving you the silent treatment-- more so than usual, if that's even possible. At least back then, he would give you a slight pause from whatever he's been doing to show he acknowledged you (and gave you the hint that he doesn't plan on replying). That's what he's always been doing whenever you try to get a response out of him. He was considerate that way; better than absolutely nothing, you guessed. But now, it's just full-on zip!

        Every time you try to say something, Soundwave would type harder and considerably louder on his keyboard, as if he's purposely trying to block you out; full time ignoring you. Hell, if you're not mistaken, the volume of his computer's alarms were noisier than you last remembered-- this time, they all screamed error. You're not stupid, you know he's angry with you. You _know_ what this was initially about, and you heavily doubt it's about your failed attempt of a transformation; if anything, it's the scanning. 

        You're not a needy bitch who needs attention twenty-four-seven. You've been alone for a very long time, after all. However, you're sure as hell won't take bullshit for something you have no control over. You're not taking blame where you knew you weren't at fault.

        Though, you gotta admit. This bot is very subtle with his tantrum. You wouldn't even notice he was throwing one unless you knew you did wrong. Or at least, you're observant enough to notice the tiniest details within his habits and mannerism, while being able to decipher whether that behavior is normal or not.

        You planned on trying to talk again. Just as you were about to open your mouth, Soundwave suddenly typed louder. What the hell? How did he know? He didn't even spare a glance towards you!

        Man, this is so immature if put out of context. But then again, the dude lost something-- _someone_. With him refusing to process his emotions, he is, so to say, _not_  so emotionally intelligent, and probably doesn't know how to react out of emotional impulse. So... You're gonna have to re-teach him how to feel properly. Can you even do that? Well, you're about to find out.

        You decided to wait out a few minutes, right when the Surveillance Lieutenant would calm his typing. And when he does, that's when you'll start. You shouldn't hesitate-- no pausing to think what to say, cause you sincerely think that Soundwave has got to have eyes somewhere other than his face to know when you'll open your mouth.

        "Yo, I know this isn't about me not being able to transform!" You blurted out, causing for the cybertronian to pause from his constant typing. Fucking finally, you got his attention. "It's about me scanning Laserbeak, isn't it?"

        Soundwave didn't realize he was being obvious with his exasperation towards you. Was he openly acting like this the whole time? It must be for you to notice his irritation towards you. That was... unplanned. Unintentional. An _accident_ \-- something the TIC rarely makes, which makes this situation all the more displeasing. But was it entirely an accident, though?

        To think a human could elicit this kind of response from him.

        How troublesome.

        "I don't get why you're mad at me. You must have, at least, saw me back there in the lab from your cameras. I have no control over the fuck I'm doing. If you're going to be angry about Laserbeak, then be mad at the spider robot," If the decepticon were to describe the tone you've used to say that, he'd characterize it as frank, nonchalant, and-- as humans say it-- down-to-earth.

        Ah, then... He simply won't make the same mistake then.

        Soundwave continued typing. This time, his digits pressed the keys lightly, back to its usual pressure.

        Dammit, you knew what he was doing. But...

        You somewhat expected this. I mean, what else can you expect from a bot who has the reputation of disregarding feelings (other than Shockwave, of course. He comes close second)? Of course he's gonna pretend as if nothing happened. If you don't fix your problem with him, then you felt like it will hinder his performance, and then, guess who's gonna get to be blamed for that? Ding-ding-ding! Bingo! It's _you,_ fucker!

        So yes, you want to mend your relationship with him. However, is that truly your reason? Or do you simply not want to feel this inevitable guilt you can't help but feeling? Damn your conscience.

        But... you are kind of curious how he _honestly_ feels. To find out if you're not the only one with such mentality-- the mentality to think it was your own fault. The mentality to think that the blame should be put onto oneself for another's demise.

        "Or maybe... maybe you're mad at yourself," Soundwave, once again, paused from his work, not predicting for you to continue on pestering him. That was a... miscalculation on his part; you are dubbed to be a curious human, after all. He should've seen that coming. Annoying.

        Despite this, he didn't realize he continued listening.

        "Ah, so it would seem so." You affirmed. The commander cursed himself for being momentarily distracted.

        Even with his emotion-comprehender disabled within his processor, he can't really help it. Emotion is just simply... part of nature-- _his_ nature. It's programmed in his spark from the day of his creation, along with the rest of his fellow cybertronians. The best he can do to 'delete' them was to pretend he never had them. And that's what he did for vorns.

        And now, you, a human he literally just met within a day, were somehow slowly undoing his hard work of keeping an emotionless facade. All because of some stupid green light.

        "I heard you deleted your emotions for you to take in information faster. Is that what it really does? Or did you delete your emotions so that you won't distract yourself from processing information?"

        Yes. That was initially the point of why he did what he did. He deleted-- no, _disabled_ his emotions so that he won't question the morality of what he does; so he won't deter his loyalty to his master. Having feelings was the reason why people have a moral compass; to distract them from their goal due to not being able to bear the emotional consequences that comes along with it. He doesn't need that to reach his objectives.

        "That's not healthy, y'know? Now, you don't know how to cope with the unidentified emotions inside. Is it anger you really feel? Or is it something else? You don't know cause you disabled them. But I'll tell you what it is."

        Just what are you trying to prove?

        "You feel it, don't you? That it's your fault that Laserbeak died." Soundwave visibly stiffened from the accusation. "I can see it. I may not know anything about you but if there's one thing I _think_ I do know is that you feel _guilty_. I would know... I've been there. And I have no right to tell you otherwise, since I don't know the fuck happened out there." You admitted solemnly, as you looked down. How do you manage to sound so serious yet so apathetic at the same time? Your ability to do that just baffles him.

        However, he still listened to what you have to say.

        "But if anything, no matter what you think, it's not your fault. It was the spider robot's." You think he doesn't know _that_?! Of course he acknowledged it was Airachnid's fault. It was only logical to place blame on the rogue. But, perhaps... it was partially his fault too for underestimating the traitor for her observation skills. She was a hunter, after all. However, he's moved on from that. He can't progress if he stuck himself to the past.

        But why does he feel so bothered?

        "Feeling grief is natural too. Grief is like an emotion that exists for other's sake; not your own. I can't really explain it. But feeling grief is like being aware of the ones who passed; to know that you remember them." You interrupted his train of thoughts, as if answering them on time. Although, what in the name of The Thirteens are you trying to do?

        Are you... trying to describe emotions...

        For _him_?

        Wait, are you attempting to create an emotional bond with him? Ah, right. Social creatures. He kept disregarding that fact about you, and now, he has fallen in a circumstance that showed him how much you oh-so crave for a social life; friendship. How you basically need it, and how _he_ can't provide it.

        He can only supply you with entertainment.

        "People express emotions for a reason, Soundwave. And how you do it will come with side-effects. At least... try to understand your feelings once in a while. Otherwise, it will eat you in the inside, and it won't be emotionally healthy." You warned, actually a bit concerned, despite just knowing the guy.

        Ah, so you're trying to convince him on enabling him to comprehend his emotions again. Not sure if you're being sly or genuine. Nevertheless, he acknowledges the feeble attempt.

        He'll have to refuse your invite.

        The lieutenant turned away from his computer then strode towards you, before patting your head with one of his thin digits-- a gesture meant to signal pity towards your need for a friend that you will never be presented with. While at the same time, trying to console you for your failed attempt of a rehabilitation for him to be 'emotionally healthy'-- something Soundwave doubted that existed.

        He was effective and functional throughout his entire time of not perceiving emotions. Therefore, he can only conclude that there is no health regarding emotions. Yes, he does not doubt the merit of mental health, but cannot be said the same for emotional health.

        After petting you, he then proceeded back to his duties, somehow feeling... at peace, despite the lack of fruition from your endeavor.

        However, it would seem that you've mistaken his act of pity for gratitude. But then, the same thing can be said for his case, seeing that he had mistaken your act of compensation for your self-hatred as an invite for friendship.

        Well, as long as you're contented, he's convinced that you'll shut up and remain quiet for the rest of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Asfghjkkll, heyyy guess who has free time again? This guy! I kinda slowed down since I'm taking turns in writing this and a tfp one shot book I plan on doing. Also, this slow burn is slowly killing me-- like c'mon soundwave, you're better than this hnggh. Once again, I question if I got the two Waves' characters right. Ah man, i sure hope i did--


	9. The Rabbit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternative Title: Shockwave Is A Purple Bitch In A Lab

        You didn't think that the night would pass by so quickly without you even noticing until a vehicon was summoned to send you to Shockwave's lab for your daily check-up. Usually, your nights were agonizingly slow, having nothing or no one to keep you occupied for time to pass. You just lie or sit somewhere, avoiding sleep as if hoping that sleep deprivation is still a possibility for your cause of death. It never did work, provided with the proof that within every morning, you retained the same energy. Not being a morning person, that's saying something. At least, you believe you're not a morning person. 

        How did you manage to distract yourself for the whole evening? Easy.

        Soundwave's data pads.

        He actually lent you information regarding cybertronian anatomy-- that's what all the data pads were about; the basics on how they work and what they're made of; their biology. So yes, you spent the whole night learning. You're not even close to finishing half of the data pads the lieutenant gave you, but you were just finishing up on the topic of transformation, when the foot soldier arrived.

        Admittedly, the reason why you were so invested in learning from the holopads was due to your attempt on figuring out how to transform, as if it contains instructions on how to do so. Perhaps that was also initially Soundwave's intentions: to give you reference. Was it working? Hah, fuck no.

        There were terms you were not familiar with, and there were some bits you had to figure out on your own through context clues. You learned direct translations for some of them (in English), but some remained unique to the cybertronians, alone. For example, you taught yourself the equivalence of some of their body parts to a human's: optics mean eyes; servos mean hands-- so on and so forth. As for the peculiar terms, there were labelled circuits that humans, of course, do not possess, and there would also be parts that only cybertronians are familiar with, such as the mainframe system, protoform, nano-cells and of course, the t-cog-- the only term you're familiar with. You're just lucky you can read Cybertronian.

        You were lost as fuck. This would mean you have to start with the basics and past chapters before moving on the transformation part.

        So you gave up and accepted that you can't and never will transform. Easy to give in? Yeah, you weren't known to have long-term motivation.

        As soon as you prepped yourself on the newly-arrived vehicon's servo, you were quick to wave a goodbye to your guardian (to which he only turned his helm to look at you depart), and mentally planned on telling Shockwave that you were a hopeless case.

        Humming a random tune, you looked at the soldier holding you. You wondered if it was the same vehicon that brought you back to Soundwave's quarters yesterday. After all, all vehicons were identical. However, you wondered if they have some unique features that you can use to distinguish them under their visors.

        Yet to see some landmarks to show you were near to your destination on the hallway, you guessed that there's some time left to kill, then tried to start a conversation.

        "Hey, what's your name?" You asked, causing for your holder to visibly flinch during his stride.

        "5T-3V3." The mech answered straightforwardly, attempting to regain his stoic facade.

        "Cool. My name's (Y/n)," You politely introduced yourself, while trying to familiarize yourself with the robot's designation. "Oh, hey! Your name technically spells Steve! Can I call you that?"

        "P-perhaps."

        "Nice. Thanks, Steve." Huh, so far, it's your first time encountering a cybertronian who lacks an authoritative aura, or at least, confidence. The robots you've met so far were menacing in their own way; with Megatron's _thicc_ build, Starscream's try-hard evil persona, Soundwave's intimidating silence, Knock Out's irrefutable sass; and Shockwave's monotone smart ass. You'd like to add extra points, but you had already proven your conclusion-- they had something to defend their identities with; a protective wall around them, if you will. Something that makes people who meet them think they aren't vulnerable. However, despite this, you already witnessed their moments of weakness within a short amount of time; just within a day, actually.

        Megatron has a short temper which blinds his better judgement, Starscream is a coward, Soundwave is emotionally awkward, Knock Out is grieving (and is gullible), and Shockwave?... He's an asshole in a lab.

        This vehicon broke that streak though. He openly showed his vulnerability through his obedient programming. It's... a nice change of pace. Perhaps he thought of you as a high-ranker, seeing that you were openly free to roam the ship and that you spend your time often with his superior officers... Or not, knowing that you have a tracking device attached to your locked neck collar.

        Just as you were about to open your mouth to start a casual chat about your curiosities, it would seem that you've already arrived at your destination, now that the vehicon has entered the lab suite and left you on the familiar slab of metal.

        "Bye Steve! It was nice to meet ya!" The bot just awkwardly waved back at your farewell before letting the lab's hatch close with a ' _hiss_ ', leaving you in the presence of a certain cyclops. "So... Did ya miss me?" You then turned to look at the scientist behind you, who happened to witness the entire awkward interaction between you and a common vehicon with intrigue.

        "No." Shockwave deadpanned (which you replied with a quiet 'ouch'). "However, I did bring you something." He stated, before showing you that 'something' within his closed servo. When he loosened his digits and revealed what was on his palm, you were actually surprised to see a ball of soft brown fur and patches of white.

        "Aww, you got me a pet rabbit! That's unexpected but I'll still take it!" You cheered, about to excitedly grab the bundle of cuteness. However, just as you were about to near Shockwave's servo, he took it away and hovered his limb on a considerable height.

        "Not quite. What I brought you isn't a mere pet but an intrinsic motivation," You tilted your head at the scientist's words in confusion, not really sure what he aims to achieve. "I've observed humans to be natural empaths: having to care for something that is considered alive, even if that something doesn't have any sorts of relationship or connection with you-- especially if that something is defined to be 'adorable' within your standards. However, my observation is a mere hypothesis; not yet a fact. Perhaps now is a good time to test that theory." Your eyes slowly widened as your mouth ran dry when you realized where this was going.

        "You-- you got me a _hostage_?!" You exclaimed, angry at the fact of what he just intends to do.

        "If you perceive it to be like that, then yes." He honestly replied, which sent you fuming.

        "Dude, what the hell?! That is _not_ cool! You can't just bring animals and threaten to kill them!" You scolded, pointing an accusatory finger at the unethical scientist.

        "Would you rather prefer a human?" He inquired, causing for you to seethe. _Just what is this bot's problem?!_

        "Wha-- no! Dude, you need fucking help!"

        "No. You are the one who needs assistance in transforming. That is why there is an organic that you called a rabbit on my servo."

        "Are you _threatening_ me over some dumb transformation?!"

        "Illogical. I am only threatening the life of the rabbit." Did... did he just sass you?

        "Well--Ugh dammit." You were at a loss of words. How the hell can you convince a person who has no concept of morals to spare an animal that has no value to him? Great, just as you were about to tell Shockwave that you were a hopeless case. Where the fuck did he even get that rabbit? Did he catch it himself?

        You really don't know what to say, but then again... maybe you do.

        "Dude, no offense, but you're a disgrace to the scientific community. _Actual_ scientists didn't waste their time on their degree, learning about the ethics and guiding humanitarian principles of science, just for some 'plurble' fuck to commit blasphemy as if we're in a war and call himself a scientist. You're just an asshole in a lab." There was a pause. Silence blanketed the air as you glared holes at his singular optic, awaiting his response. Now that you thought about it, you shouldn't say something that would agitate him. After all, he still has the rabbit on his servo.

        "Points taken, but not accepted," You frowned at his statement. "While you may be right, seeing that our species have identical protocols in terms of scientific methods, you did get a single but significant detail wrong."

        "And what would that be?" You raised an eyebrow, as you noticed that Shockwave's optic dimmed.

        "We _are_ in a war." Your eyes widened at the revelation, causing for you to gulp down your upcoming retaliation.

        "O-oh..." That was all you uttered out, before looking down, your hair partially covering a fraction of your face.

        "That is why it is of utmost importance that we weaponize anything we can to win it, and you are currently a part of it." The purple cyclops declared, before continuing. "Now, are you willing to comply or not?"

        "Well-- can't we do that _without_ threatening another life? I'll try but I can't guarantee! What if I really can't transform and that t-cog turned out to be something else-- like-like, I dunno? Some other... part? You guys couldn't open me up. How can you be so sure?" You muttered out the last part-- almost inaudible, a bit doubtful of your own uncertainty since their technology is _way_ advanced than what you are familiar with. They should have better accuracy with them, right?

        "It is unquestionable that you have a t-cog." Your doubt was then justified. "However, what I am uncertain of is if your form is capable of undergoing transformation or not. Although, receiving reports of you being able to scan while possessing a t-cog gave a high probability that you can." Shockwave informed, his expression still unreadable. However, you did pick up some movements on his antennas at the side of his helm.

        "So what? You'll guilt trip me to pressure me into transforming?" You asked, looking up at him with an irritated look.

        "If that's what it takes, then yes." This fucking purple bitch.

        "If we really are in a war, then something tells me we're on the wrong side of it." You condemned, as to while he just continued staring at you with an emotionless gaze.

        "I'll give you ten nanokliks." Your eyes suddenly widened at his unexpected declaration of a countdown, as he presented the still mammal you realized to be unconscious (hopefully) the entire time, his sharp digits threatening to close down on the poor animal.

        "W-what? Nanokliks?"

        "Ten." Holy shit, he meant _seconds_!

        "W-wait!" You attempted to call out.

        "Nine."

        "Stop! I-I--" You don't want this.

        "Eight."

        "You can't rush me like this!" Not another life.

        "Seven."

_C'mon, transform! Transform dammit! Shit!_

        "Six."

        "I-I can't work under pressure!" You don't want another life lost on your account. Not on _your_ hands. Not again. Not when you can do something about it this time.

        "Five."

        All you have to do is transform and this wouldn't have to continue on. But all your body is making you do is have your blood pumped faster and have you hear deafening ringing in your ears. This damn pressure.

        "Four."

        "Don't do this dammit!" If you jump on him and try to climb for the rabbit, he'll retaliate. If you try distracting him, he'll still ignore you-- every attempt you could think of _will all_ fail.

        "Three."

        If this rabbit dies and you did nothing about it, the cycle would continue all over again.

        "Two."

        That this situation would solidify the proof that despite being indestructible, you are still and always will be powerless.

        "One."

         _You can't protect anyone._

        Suddenly, as if to your rescue, the lab doors opened and revealed a curious Knock Out, the red mech still looking at his data pad.

        The experiment has been postponed.

        "Sorry to barge in without notice, but I've picked up your spiking vitals, doll, so I had to-- oh..." The medic paused from looking at his holopad, when he noticed the condition you were in. Or rather, what the whole situation was.

        Your tear-stained face, Shockwave holding what seemed to be an animalia-categorized organic-- it's... honestly confusing on what was going.

        "Did I... interrupt something?" The medical officer inquired, his digits no longer hovering over his data pad and instead gave his full attention at what was happening.

        "No. In fact, we have just recently finished." Shockwave declared before finally handing you over the rabbit, which you hesitantly took.

        "Um... okay..? I guess I should be going... now..." Just as Knock Out was about to exit the room, the scientist instructed him to stay and take you with him, to which the medic followed.

        However, before you took a step on Knock Out's offered servo, you and Shockwave shared one last conversation for the day.

        "I do not understand why you'd fret over such a minor thing. I could always provide another organic, after all." The Head Scientist stated as a matter-of-fact, as if one life is replaceable. Knowing his personality, you understand why. But you've lost your patience with him.

        "If you happened to have killed this rabbit and I did manage to transform, I will do everything in my power to destroy you no matter _what_. Try guilt tripping me again and I will _fucking_ bury you. So if you want to continue worshiping logic in this life, I suggest you do the most logical course of action and _never_ do anything like this ever again." And with that, you let Knock Out carry you away from the room, leaving Shockwave to ponder over your threat.

        He found your behavior to be... curious.

**~*~*~**

The whole walk back to Soundwave's quarters was awkward. Your tears may have dried (you didn't even notice you were crying at the time), but Knock Out doubted you've moved on. Now that you're quiet, the medic wasn't used to your silence. You usually have something to say or ask-- even stupid things. But to see you so serious...

"Mind telling me what happened back there? Cause the personality you've shown was kind of... spicy, if I do say so myself," Knock Out remarked half-jokingly, as you continued to seethe over the cyclops scientist while petting the sleeping rabbit. You assumed it was tranquilized for it to be unconscious this long.

        "Purple bitch threatened me with a rabbit," The medic chuckled at your explanation before stopping himself, realizing you were serious.

        "Oh... Is it your pet?"

        "No."

        "Friend's pet?"

        "No."

        "Any relation to it at all?"

        "No." This left the cherry red mech confused. If you had no relationship with the presumably wild animal at all, then why bother caring for its life? It reminds him of...

        The infamous Autobot mentality.

        "Was Shockwave always this much of an asshole? I knew he was one before, but today surpassed my expectations." Hah, wow, you've really had it with the Head Scientist.

        "Yeah... Didn't like him much either." The doctor smirked, shaking his head. "Shockwave did receive a universal definition of being sparkless, so you can see why."

        "Really? Wow, what a douche." You grumbled.

        "But despite that, he does what he does because he simply thinks it's logical. He would even go as far as ignoring his personal opinions, as long as the argument was logical." Knock Out expounded, causing for you raise an eyebrow at him.

        "He mentioned that you-- er, we are in a war. Is that true?" You asked, as the mech sighed.

        "I'd be lying if I said it wasn't."

        Finally arriving at your destination, Knock Out went inside Soundwave's hab-suite, only to find him in front of his monitors, as usual-- still searching for your origins that he may never find. When the lieutenant turned to look at his doorway, he already expected you with Knock Out, after witnessing the muted footage from the Nemesis' laboratory. However, he didn't expect the rabbit to be brought over.

        He simply assumed that he might have missed some parts of the security feed to see Shockwave hand it over to you. After all, he does split his time equally on his multiple roles.

        Once Knock Out left you on your usual table, you waved a goodbye before he exited the room, leaving you with your guardian.

        Admittedly, Soundwave wasn't interested in observing what was happening in the lab earlier. However, when he was alerted of your spiking vitals via neck collar, he immediately checked the feed only to see you untouched. He then disregarded the whole situation entirely and presumed you were just doing stupid things that the officer wouldn't even think of doing. He stopped watching the feed as soon as Knock Out arrived.

        "Hey Soundwave, you think you can help me bring this lil' guy home somewhere?" You queried, causing for the Decepticon to pause from his work, and turn to you with question. Pondering over it, he found it best to release the animal back in the wild. The rabbit would only leave a mess if it were to stay.

        Nodding, the silent lieutenant complied and opened up a green portal, causing for you to look at the swirling doorway with such shock and amazement. Before asking Soundwave where it came from, you noticed his visor was littered with a set of coordinates, causing for you to put two-and-two together.

        "Woah, you guys can do _that_?!" Not wasting time, the third-rate commander offered his servo for you to climb on, to which you carefully did.

        And then the two of you entered the spacebridge.

        Once you reached the other side of the portal, you were amazed and overwhelmed by the color of green. Green grasses, green leaves, green everything except for the medium-sized waterfall that could very much be a pool. The rocks surrounding it were covered in green moss too though.

        "We should come here often. I mean, it's a nice place to take a bath." Soundwave considered your suggestion, remembering that personal hygiene is a need amongst humans. The lieutenant just gave out a nod as a wordless reply, before setting you down.

        Walking near the pool under the waterfall, you knelt down and dipped your free hand on its surprisingly warm water before sprinkling it on the rabbit's face, causing for it to finally awaken. Once it realized it was being held, it immediately jumped away from your grasp and fled.

        "Ah well, there's that." You shrugged before standing right back up. Looking back at your guardian, he simply pointed at the direction of where the rabbit escaped to, before pointing back at you. "What?"

        " _Why--care--_ " Sounwave wasn't stupid. He observed enough that you cried for the animal that wasn't even aware of being threatened earlier.

       "Look, just 'cause I don't care about my life, doesn't mean I don't care for others'." You declared, causing for another question to pop into the Third-in-Command's processor. The thing he hasn't considered beforehand was what caused you to want to lose your life. Maybe, if he knew the reason why, it may stretch into a clue enough for him to find something. At this point, he was actually desperate.

        Another voice clip played.

        " _Do you seriously have a death wish?!--Hell yeah._ " It was Megatron's voice at first, followed by your own. Looking at Soundwave's face screen, a question mark appeared.

        Ah, so he wants to know why...

        "I did unforgivable things, Soundwave." You simply stated, and the lieutenant knew enough that you won't disclose anything more than that. He left it at that... for now.

        Soon enough, your guardian offered you his servo yet again, beckoning for the both of you to return back to the ship to which you complied, hesitantly-- simply savoring the fresh air before being cooped up back in the vessel. And like that, the green view disappeared and was replaced with the dull but familiar room.

        Silence ensued for a few seconds before you asked something that definitely had the Third-in-Command's full attention. Something that ebbed you to ask to wonder about the reason behind why Shockwave did what he did, and your conversation with Knock Out yesterday.

        "Hey Soundwave, what's the Decepticon cause?"

**~*~*~**

**In case you guys haven't noticed, I usually update within every two weeks-- only because I've been busy. But don't worry, I'm about to have free time real soon!**


	10. Consolation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternative Title: The Decepticons Are A̶̡̳͔̙̟͖̦̱̲̲̺̱̥͐̊ͧ͋̄͋̄͐ͮ͂͆͛̽̔͝͡͠ͅ ̷̨͎͎̰̩͖̂ͪ̃̅̿̒ͭ̒͞Ļ̷̷̸̵͎͓͔̬̞͎͇̪̪̹ͧ̀̾͂ͬ̚ͅo͙̜̺͖̤͕̩̖͋͊̅ͤ̈̀̅ͪ̀̎̎͆͢͠ͅs̶̿͂̉̎ͯ̔͏̢͓̬̪̬̝̜̞̬̝͕̗͓ͅt̛̯̜̮̺̳̺̞̮̙̠̗̰̟̣͒͛͒̿͑̓ͬͯ̎͢ ̢̡̓͆͗ͨ̿͂͐ͩ͗̃̈́͌͗ͬ̕͢͏̣͕̺̗̞̠͕̤̘̲̰C̸̾͗̓̈́͋̓̐̐͂͂̋ͨͦ̏̒̆̚͠҉̮̖̘̻͖͈̪̮͎͓̺͚ă̢̡̻͖͎̣̝̥̹̣̮̻̳̬̫͙̪̪̈́ͥ͗͗̈́͆̊̈͡͠u̶̺̰̱̗̬͌̒̎̈ͪ̔͆̃̉̌͋̂̑͐̏ͩ́͢s̸̷̍ͬ̅͛̀̽ͦ͐̃ͭ͞͏̳̪̣̮͈̤̥e̖̠̮̯̟̯͔͔̰̤̲̱̻̮̺̤͚͍̋͑̊͒̊ͤ͋̽̈̆̌ͭ̉ͪ̾͢.

        You are not used to death.

        That much, Soundwave could tell from your episode earlier with the recently released wild animal; on how much you've shed tears for something that wouldn't even bat an eye on you if your positions were to be switched. You were too merciful for your own good. Invulnerable, yet at the same time, unbelievably fragile.

        Another contrast between you and the cybertronian.

        The mech was so, _so_ used to death, that at some point, he temporarily forgot he killed beings with consciences-- bots who once had lives before the Great War; before vorns of violence. He grew unfazed with each puddle of energon he spilled, validating his own actions for the infamous cause.

        The Decepticon cause: Soundwave's only motivation in his onlining; his only purpose. The reason why he is often so restless to ensure the Decepticons' victory. The cause that stemmed out from Megatronus' speech from the day it all began: Declaration Day; the official date of the beginning of the Great War.

        While many cybertronians remember that event with immense dread, some viewed it differently. Megatron saw it as a substantial start for his legacy to lead his followers to the age of equality, Starscream saw the opportunity to gain power, Shockwave was granted the convenience of ignoring experiment ethics in midst of all the chaos, and Soundwave? He felt... liberated; finally unchained from the caste system that he no longer needs to endure along with his fellow Decepticon followers--the low castes.

        At what cost? Countless lives-- both allies and enemies, alike.  And eventually, their planet perished along with their fallen soldiers.

        However, the Decepticon members merely fought back from the oppression they've received for eons, just because of how they were formed. They didn't want this, but the cybertronians who forced them to act asked for it. It was about time did the low castes do something about the unfair treatment.

        Hence, Soundwave _knows_ he's on the right side of the war. That's why he didn't hesitate on showing his processor's memory of what exactly happened on Declaration Day when you asked regarding what their cause was all about; no censors, no filters, no manipulation. Just the truth. He was confident that his loyalty resides within a just cause. However, he cannot be sure if a mere human like you would understand the purpose of it all.

        The Decepticons defied the laws of their land; going against their own government because they believed that their laws were wrong. As a member of society, they were obliged to rid of it. It should’ve been simple: protest and they’ll change. But they didn’t listen. They never did; for, a low caste’s words have no value just as they have no worth in their society. The higher castes were just too ignorant. Apathetic. Prejudiced. 

        The low castes tried breaking the law. But sometimes, breaking the law just wasn’t enough. So, they made a compromise and chose to break the _lawmakers_ , instead, thinking that it was perhaps necessary. The old senate has been murdered, and the the Decepticons took credit. Terrorists, the outsiders called them.  Despite this, there was no reason to believe that a moment of violence would lead to a lifetime of it. The government—no, the _Autobots_ chose to turn it into a lifetime of war.

        But what did the Decepticons expect? After all, a revolution would always demand war. The government wouldn't submit easily to a single assassination.

        No, they did not commit murder; they simply made a sacrifice.

        Justice comes in all shapes and sizes—not necessarily good and not necessarily bad either. It’s not that simple. If it was, then surely, a highly intelligent being like them wouldn’t have to reach to the point of near extinction.

        A simple-minded creature, such as yourself, that could only see black and white—unable to comprehend that there is more than just “good and evil”—wouldn’t be able to understand that. You’re young. Inexperienced. Naive… Innocent. Things that Soundwave isn’t. Not anymore.

        But it wouldn’t hurt to try to show you things in his perspective and have you think for yourself. Whether you think the Decepticons were right or wrong, it doesn't matter. As long as the third-rate commander showed his side of the story, he was contented no matter the outcome. 

        With his tendril inserted at the port of his computer, the lieutenant's main monitor presented a memory of a younger-looking Megatron in Soundwave's point of view, and in front of them was a mass of unnamed cybertronians.

        You were sitting as you were currently looking at a start of a revolution from the TIC's optics.

       _Nova Point_ , Soundwave remembered the location, _in Iacon_ ; that was where they were during that time. A now historical place of Cybertron that bears an infamous reputation for being the birth place of the Decepticons.

        " _We, cybertronians, are one of a kind. Our nature granted to us by Primus, the half of the One, is unique-- unequaled! And as beings bestowed with such title, despite being labeled as low castes, we are not replaceable; not disposable, and definitely not forgettable like how_ they _treated us to be!_ " Megatron's voice echoed from the computer's speakers, immediately fascinating you with how different his voice was back then to his voice now. Other than that, you didn't expect Megatron to be a bot of inspiration. You just assumed he was all threats and violence to show conviction, which placed the warmonger in a new light for you.

        He was a different cybertronian back then: passionate, inspiring, and just. Not yet corrupted by cruelty, thirst for power, and  _revenge._

War can truly change people _._

      Despite how different Megatron was back then, he still bore some of his old traits; like the determination that burned within his _crimson optics_.

        " _In some point in our lives, every one of us, we were told that Cybertron is of satisfaction, for they told us it is paradise. And yet, I feel limited. Imprisoned. I feel like we are incarcerated by an invisible force, along with our marvelous home! Something is amiss, is it_ not _?!_ "

        The crowd within the screen cheered with agreement, as you tried to piece out the context behind this supposed revolution. Megatron mentioned something about low castes, you recalled. That they were not replaceable, disposable nor forgettable. The matter of treatment.

        " _Yes, and I say it's the system that constrains us from the energon rations that deprive every one of us of our maximum potential and strength that were ours by right upon our creation!_ "

        Deprivation? From lack of energon rations? Do they perhaps mean scarcity? 

        " _The worst kinds of prisoners are those who are willing. If you could look outside the system, you would recognize it for what it is: a prison, and_ we _are the willing prisoners of it. They say we should be thankful for our slavery, for it refines us. That we should appreciate the system, for it protects us. Be mindful of our betters, for they think for us. No! We should deny the lies they feed to us, for the system causes us nothing but misery within our own home. Resist the system. As for our betters? We have none! Today, that will all change, for we will set ourselves free the like how we easily imprisoned ourselves within this system in the first place."_

        Slavery..? No way. Otherwise, that would mean that all cybertronians within this ship were once slaves, or at least were aware of their corrupt government... unless there were other unspecified reasons.

        " _You have heard it from me many times before, and I'll say it again: we live in a prison forged from our own fear. We can fight back and release ourselves from our imaginary shackles by simply no longer believing in the caste system! Our mere words cannot stir the high class from the slumber of their delusions. We have had enough. Thus, it is of importance that we fight back!_ "

        Ah, so this wasn't Megatron's first speech.

        A system that created such anger, misery, and despair within every bot in the video said a lot about their government. Forced labor, unfair privileges, disposable bots as if they were just mere objects-- you understand now. It is now clear to you what their cause was. But you already know, you just needed a confirmation.

 _"We are all equal and it is of our right to decide how to live our lives!_   _I am accused as a romancer-- insane--by those who were not even of our own caste; saying that I was preaching nonsense-- preaching_ lies _. If that is so, then for if to to tell the truth is deception, then we are gladly guilty._ "

        Just like Knock Out told you yesterday: the Decepticon's ideology was to strive for equality... and now, you recently learned that they will gain it through force.

        What _they_ simply wanted was peace, and the only way it seems they can achieve it was through tyranny. If their council won't listen to reason, then the low castes resorted to violence. Judging by the masses' reactions, you can tell that the system definitely had flaws to unleash such hatred, and their government did nothing about it. By understanding the Decepticon cause, you are now starting to understand Soundwave a bit better.

        Soundwave isn't really a bad guy. He just wants the Decepticons to reach their goal and that's equality.

        Nothing more; nothing less.

        And since Megatron was known as a champion gladiator, the third-rate commander sees the warmonger as the most capable bot to lead such a groundbreaking cause. The Chief Intelligence Officer disregarded his feelings, his morals, and his will all for his one-tracked processor to bear desirable fruition from this devastating war. He trusts his old friend. Otherwise, where else could he go?

        Megatron's intent was initially righteous, which attracted followers like Soundwave. But his methods were atrocious, which attracted followers like Starscream.

        Soundwave, too deep into his thoughts, didn't realize that the highlight of the Declaration Day memory ended, and in place of the ended video was your data recordings (without his notice). He was too occupied on thinking of what was the logic behind showing a human something of his planet's history and have them generate an opinion-- an unimportant variable-- regarding it. What was he thinking? You have no part in this other than being a tool for their success. He was simply wasting time and delaying his duties. 

        After much comprehension and reflection, you finally spoke up, breaking his train of thoughts.

        "Knock Out said there are factions. What's the other one?"

        " _\--autobots--_ " Soundwave answered promptly with Shockwave's voice, his monitor now showing a gigantic red and blue robot (it would seem he hasn't realized that his tendril was still attached to his computer). You internally cringed when you had to hear that asshole's voice again. However, you did remember the scientist mentioning about keeping you away from the so-called Autobots. But you had to ask...

        "So... What happened after? Did you guys succeed?"

        Subconsciously, Soundwave's mind drifted to multiple memories that held mental scars from the war in the thought of your question. With his processor still linked to the monitor with his feelers, clips started jumping and glitching left and right, creating a cluster of films that were embedded within the deepest part of his processor that he doesn't have the spark to delete. Thus, a jumble of short videos was created, and might as well be considered as the summary of Soundwave's nightmares.

        His kills. His planet's destruction. His symbiotes' offlining. 

        And then, there was the sounds.

        The explosions. The begs for help. The _screaming_.

        _Everything was in chaos._

        Once realizing that the TIC was unwillingly showing you clips of the war, he was quick to retrieve his tendril and turn off the monitor in a state of subtle panic finally realizing he was still showing you his processor's data banks. Ah, what a mess this whole thing turned out to be. Soundwave almost growled in disconcertment for showing weakness, but was interrupted from the thought of it when you asked yet another one of your curiosities.

        "The war isn't over yet, is it," That wasn't a question; you were certain it was still on-going. Based from the shown clips, their planet was too damaged. Dead. "And it's being continued, here, on Earth." Educated guess, Soundwave concurred.

        The commander merely nodded in response, as you looked down on your crossed legs.

        _Rumble, Frenzy, Ravage, Ratbat_... Names you've heard being yelled from Soundwave's memories. You didn't know who they were, but you guessed that they've meant something meaningful to your custodian when you saw blue liquid filtering his vision when he faced the robots that owned the mentioned designations. 

        Then again, this was war.

        Soundwave would have inevitably lost people important in his life.

        Maybe, the Decepticons are not as 'evil-looking' as they seem. Maybe, just maybe, they're just like you.

        A person who did the wrong things for the right reasons.

        "I'm sorry for your loss..." You muttered, loud enough to be heard by the only cybertronian in the room, causing for the latter to look at you with such surprise-- his visor being the only thing hiding his expression to you.

        He has... never received those kinds of words before. They sounded so... sincere, as if having experienced grievance, yourself. 

        Now that he thought about it, the closest consolation he got was " _They have fought well for our cause_ " and that was from his oldest and only friend, Megatron. Now that he slowly processed your words, he didn't realize he needed to hear them-- from you especially.

        With the Decepticons, you often have to put up a tough facade, for strength and fierceness are what gets you to have a place within the ranks. Show doubt-- even one sliver of emotional weakness, and Megatron would ought to show doubt back at you in turn. The Decepticon leader does not trust any forms of vulnerability. It is, after all, one of the factors why the warmonger hates the Autobots so much.

        But for now, Soundwave was willing to receive something that's been eons he hasn't experienced within this damned time of war: comfort.

        And so, serene silence followed after the lieutenant nodded at your consolation, with him going back to work and you continuing to read where you left off from the given holopads.  

        To have Soundwave's spark bear lighter in weight by your sympathy was... pleasing.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this was short AND late, but earthquakes have been happening lately and I gotta stay alert, y'know? I mean, I'm okay-- nothing has been damaged... in my area, at least. But the magnitude was kinda strong albeit short. Thank you for understanding and have a good day/night ^^ 
> 
> Also, I'm making all this history up since I have no idea what the aligned continuity was like. I'm not sure if it's TFP canon, BUT I did base it off from the IDW universe, where I loosely based Megatron's speech, since his motivations are still somewhat the same, but would change later on. Megatron's eyes changed to red when Orion became a prime, so since in his speech his eyes were already red, I'm guessing he was already corrupted by hatred. Declaration day happened AFTER Orion became a prime.
> 
> Also (I say "also" a lot xD), important note for the next chapter: Breakdown was killed by MECH NOT Airachnid. It's a minor change I have to make for the sake of the plot. Breakdown died the same day Silas was placed in his body, and right now? The Decepticons have Silas/Breakdown. Yeah, the zombie episode is coming pretty soon xD


	11. Confirmed Loyalty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternative Title: please stop roaSTING STARSCREAM, THERE'S NONE OF HIM LEFT--

  _ERROR._

        That was the twenty-three thousand four hundred twenty-sixth error today, and not a sliver of progress other than deduction. There were approximately eighty thousand and more official governments in this mud ball of a planet, and Soundwave searched for your name along with the key words of your condition in each and every one of them, hoping to find any form of information regarding you-- your race, country, family, schools; he'll take anything. 

        He started from the superpower countries before eventually reaching third-worlds. You're bound to be tied with one of them, Soundwave reasoned, hence the continuation of his efforts. However, he's starting to believe that you never existed, given that you held no records nor whatsover to prove otherwise. Sure, there were some humans he occasionally found named (Y/n), but they all weren't _you_. He kept hacking highly secured databases (some he might even consider visiting personally to tamper with the mainframe), but nothing came to fruition.

        The TIC does not like wasting time.

        So now, it was perhaps best to try and find clues through another medium other than government bureaus, and that's non-government organizations. Since some are unofficial, they are bound to be more than government ones in terms of numbers. However, with experiments that aim for technology to be modeled after a cybertronian's, a certain group's name already came within the lieutenant's processor: MECH.

        An educated guess at best, but at least it's something to start with.

        It was about time did Soundwave pay the deceased wrecker a visit.

**~*~*~**

        "You... You want to visit... Cylas?"

        After you guessed Soundwave was 'bored' with his job, he offered you a servo and you immediately thought you were going to Shockwave's lab again. So yes, there were some protests here and there, before the TIC showed you an image of the ship's medical bay on his visor to inform you of the destination and get you to comply. You even made him nod as his promise to you that this wasn't some form of a trick. Although, you can't help but notice and appreciate your custodian for not just snatching you off the table to get it over with, and instead respected your comfort zone. It's the small things that Soundwave does to know your status with him, and honestly, you're kinda ballsy enough to even dare say he respects you--  maybe not as equals, but it's something.

        So now, here you are at the med bay, pondering over who the fuck Cylas was when Knock Out hesitantly clarified your guardian regarding the purpose of his visit, to which, once again, Soundwave just nodded at.

        "Well then, time for a tour I guess," And with that, the medic gestured for the TIC to follow him to the back of the room that led to another hatch door to which then revealed another interesting character as soon as it opened. This guy has a huge build compared to the two other mechs within the room, and may perhaps be the second biggest bot next to Megatron (other than the biped insects). His main color is blue, and interestingly enough, has orange face plates, unlike majority of the bots here who either have gray or white. Plus, this guy seems to be missing an optic. The dude is basically all kinds of special.

        Oh, another important detail that makes him different is that he's restrained on a berth.

        "Do not fret femmes and gentlemechs; for, he is securely detained." Knock Out reassured, as he poked, who you assumed to be, Cylas' helm multiple times, causing for the unconscious cybertronian's golden optic to flutter open, while the missing one simply glowed to show that it's online.

        "What do you plan on doing with me this time?!" The newly awakened mech immediately growled as he tried freeing his restrained limbs (to which he, of course, failed), his face in obvious distress.

        "Umm... Is he an Autobot prisoner?" You asked, looking at Knock Out.

        "Oh Primus, no!" The medic chuckled, before his flamboyant voice turned grim. "He's a lot worse, actually." Before you could even ask either of the Decepticons if there were more than two factions you don't know about, Cylas interrupted that idea by demanding the two cybertronians to tell him what was going on-- specifically, about you.

        "Who on Earth is that?! Why is she here?!" This 'Cylas' guy sounded angry... but at the same time, undoubtedly afraid.

        "What you see here isn't... just a cybertronian, but a human pretending to be one," The red physician easily ignored the incarcerated robot's thrashing. "The body belongs to Breakdown, and the human, Cylas, is, well... the current controller of his husk."

        "Please tell me there isn't actually a human inside one of your kind's corpse." You cringed, because if so, that's really disturbing. You really hoped they meant something like the brain's contents being programmed in a chip then inserted in the cybertronian's processor.

        "Well, kind of. He's only a detached head," Holy fuck, that's a lot worse than you previously thought. "This is an experiment in an attempt of a symbiosis between an organic and a cybertronian. Trying to find a way to connect both species, to which he succeeded, as you can see." You can tell that Knock Out wasn't pleased with the concept, seeing as he would spare an occasional glare at Cylas while talking to you. "Anyway, I'll leave you to whatever business you have with our prisoner, while I attend to some vehicons that may possibly come barging at my door. Autobots these days, y'know?" The physician grumbled, half-complaining (as if wanting to be heard) before exiting the inner-room. You can easily tell that the medic wasn't entirely all comfortable with the Third-in-Command, as he would often make excuses to leave the room whenever he can.

        You're guessing that it _may_ be the awkwardness. 

        "So... What did you bring me in here for?" You asked, as you continued staring at the trapped body that's just a few feet away from you and Soundwave. This is a human, you had to remind yourself. At least, he's _initially_  human... literally.

        " _Cylas--connection--(Y/n)--_ " You processed the Surveillance Officer's recorded words carefully, coming to a guess that Soundwave thought that maybe you'd know the name 'Cylas' from somewhere.

        "Nope. Pretty sure I never heard a 'Cylus' in all my life," You shrugged, as you felt your holder stiffen. "Until recently, and, I mean, right now."

        Soundwave then faced the prisoner who was watching the whole interaction with curiosity, as if also expecting him to answer the Decepticon's recorded inquiry. 

        "Never had a project with (Y/n)'s involvement, I swear!" Quickly announced MECH's former leader in such abrupt panic. Seeing the once stoic and cold boss of an organization that held a threatening reputation turn into such a pathetic display of a human prisoner basically begging for its life is... sad.

        However, if it's not MECH, then Soundwave would ought to worry that there is a chance that there may be more human organizations that know about their existence. A minor problem, really, but a problem nonetheless. Unnecessary.

        Annoying.

        "Project? What kind of projects do you hold, exactly?" You eyed the strapped down mech with an undecipherable aura, as the silent commander paid attention to your sudden interest.

        "The MECH organization's primary aim is the completion of Project Chimera. A creation of a new generation through the use of advanced technology. Basically, world domination." Cylas said rather confidently, having to repeat that statement multiple times before. For a second there, the man felt like he was what he was before: a feared leader.

        "When you mean advanced technology, you mean cybertronian autopsy?" You sassed before suddenly dawned with a realization.

        Back at the game of twenty questions, Knock Out said something about his partner being experimented on. That would explain the constant glaring the medic kept giving at the trapped human, also known as Breakdown's husk. Does that mean that Knock Out's partner was...?

        "You're fucking sick." You deadpanned, causing for the former leader of MECH to look at you with a surprised expression, not expecting the sudden insult. "You experimented on a different specie for their guns, and you plan to use them for your goal that can lead to wars. Despite wanting human advancement, ironically enough, you also desire the most primal human nature: violence. In the end, you're the most primitive of us all."

**~*~*~**

****_Back again to his computers_ , you thought boringly as you were once again within Soundwave's quarters, your finger just about hovering on another holopad. After your encounter with Cylas and basically confirmed to your guardian that you have no connections with him or whatsoever, you had no reason to stay at the med bay and the mute lieutenant immediately thought of going back after what you last said to MECH's former leader. Although, unbeknownst to you, your words didn't pierce just the intended target.

        _Hah, I fucking snatched that dude's wig_ , you snickered inwardly, not forgetting the priceless look he gave you. But then again, wasn't Knock Out a mad doctor, himself? Or at least, judging by his tools (that might as well be considered as torture instruments) aligned in the surgery room. If he dissected victims before... Who was to say that he doesn't deserve the taste of his own medicine as well? What made him different from Cylas?

        For starters, Knock Out has a more valid reason than Cylas does. Knock Out is in a war while Cylas wants to start one. For sure that the medic's victims _became_ victims for interrogation. He simply used the casualties of war for his convenience (not as much as Shockwave though).

        Or maybe... it was of inner bias-- the fact that Cylas' experiment was so close to the concept of a practice that you experienced before. Almost the same.

        Almost.

        So, basically, Knock Out is in a gray area. If the Decepticon faction really does strive for equality, then maybe--

        Your thoughts came interrupted as soon as Soundwave's hatch doors opened to reveal the leader of the mentioned faction, himself, and-- holy shit, it's fucking _him!_

        "Eyyy, Megatron! Shriekscream!" You greeted enthusiastically as you stood up from your seat (not like you even had any), as the Second-in-Command was taken aback by your behavior in front of his liege.

        "It's _Star_ scream!" The first lieutenant corrected, finally recollecting himself, before immediately approaching you as if threatening you with his towering figure, while glaring you down. However, he controlled himself enough to not kill you on the spot (if he could, that is, but he doesn't know that... yet).

        "Hah, whatever," You chuckled, before looking back at the warmonger with such familiarity. 

        "Soundwave, I'm hoping you made some progress with your assignment after knowing that Shockwave has not." Megatron informed, his servos placed behind his back struts, giving you the thought that he perhaps passed through the lab first before visiting you-- er, Soundwave.

        It took a while, and it was not that evident, but the Third-in-Command merely shook his head, causing for the warlord to subtly snarl at his lack of progress with _you_. For some reason, your stomach churned at the thought of Megatron lashing out because of Soundwave's 'failure', knowing how much the blue mech respects his leader.

        The atmosphere was slowly growing thicker.

        "Hey, Lord Megatron, quick question," The whole room's attention suddenly turned to the source of the unprecedented voice; you. And honestly, you didn't see that coming either, but here you are, just having called for 'Lord Megatron's attention. "Is... Is the Decepticon's cause really for equality?"

        What the fuck kind of question is that? Isn't that like the third time you asked that question for your whole stay here?

        Well, you know what they say, third time's the charm. Besides, nothing is more reassuring than getting the answer from the leader himself, who looked stunned to even answer.

        "How dare you address our liege so casually?!" Starscream was the first to react, his form bending to equally meet your gaze.

        "Holy hell, dude, I was only asking a question. No need to go ballistic just cause I asked your lord and savior," _Can I get an amen,_ you wanted to add, but you know better than assuming they'd know such a human term. They're not religious nor meme-cultured enough to get that phrase (you think).

        "You're really testing m--"

        "Yes," The room went silent as soon as Megatron answered, cutting Starscream's complaint regarding your attitude. "Indeed, our cause is to gain peace through tyranny; for, it is the only available solution for our predicament as low-castes." Megatron's face plates were... unreadable, as if lost in his swirling reminiscence of nostalgia.

        "Soundwave showed me a memory of one of your speeches," You started, as the two other mechs just stared at you with either curiosity or disdain. "I understood the context, in case you're wondering," You added thoughtfully, as the large mech contemplated over what you just said.

        "Then you understand why we do what we do. You understand our enemy; understand _us_ ," Surprisingly, even to the lordship, himself, he didn't mock of you for your 'simple mind not being able to comprehend such'. He gave you a benefit of a doubt and just came to trust your claim.

        Maybe it's because you reminded him of something that was akin to his former glory; awakened something deep within his dead spark as if reminding him of his purpose. It rekindles to a memory of Optimus Prime losing his memories and becoming an incomplete puzzle of his past. Nostalgia, perhaps?

        "The war destroyed your home. It could've been prevented, I've learned," You uttered out, snapping the warmonger from his deep thought. "The Autobots work for the corrupt government, right?" 

        Oh, they used to. But like you said, the war destroyed his home, hence there was no need for a government that has nothing to rule. The warmonger always did hate the Autobots, nevertheless. Fighting for the right, they claimed, but where were they when the low castes were suffering from abuse? To think they'd rather choose an entirely alien specie over their own kind.

        In the end, both factions strayed from their original purpose. Was it because of the war? Or their leader? Or maybe both as the war affected the two leaders thus driving them to be the way they are now?

        Nonetheless, it didn't change the fact that they may have... additional goals now. However, it's not like you'd need to know that. Ignorance is bliss, is it not? Although, not always preferred, they'll soon learn. For now, though, you're given the benefit of delight for siding with the 'right' faction.

        "The Autobots always did have faulty judgement," Megatron remarked, a certain red and blue mech appearing within his processor. "But they choose not to believe that."

        "Then..." You started, looking down your feet before looking back at the warmonger. "I'll side by the Decepticon cause."

        Starscream was, once again, taken aback; his optic dilating in disbelief on hearing such a declaration-- from a human, especially. Soundwave, on the other hand, while as equally surprised, felt something akin to being... contented. At peace. However, with his sentient core disabled, he can't exactly pinpoint what the emotion was, but that didn't change the fact that your statement was rather pleasant to hear.

        "You are aware of our reputation, are you not? Our kills, massacres," The warlord waited patiently for your response, but didn't have to wait long; for, you were quick to answer.

        "Of course I do. Soundwave lent me datapads regarding your history. I know what happened in Declaration day, The Great War-- I'm aware of your genocides."

        Megatron didn't elicit an emotion of surprise. Instead, he looked... welcoming of the new recruit; you. Back when he first met you, he announced that you were now part of the Decepticons to mock you that you had no choice but to comply. To think that 'their weapon' so willingly gave themselves in today. The warmonger didn't even worry for your announcement to be one of deception. It takes a liar to know a liar; you're not one of them. This wasn't a facade.

        Kind of interesting now that you would comply to their wishes under your own accord. With your capabilities, you could be a great asset for the Decepticons. Unlike most humans, you were surprisingly mature and accepting war for what it is. Nobody wants it, but it happened for a reason-- you understood that. As long as you are not aware of their... redirected cause, there should be no problem.

        Finally snapped out of his trance, Starscream was quick to rebut this, breaking the respecting atmosphere you temporarily had with the warmonger.

        "B-but Lord Megatron, for sure you aren't really going to give this fleshy a place among our ranks, yes?" You glared at the seeker in front of you, a snide remark already at the tip of your tongue.

        "Why? 'Cause you're afraid that lil' ol' me would be competent enough to replace you?" A smirk crawled its way up to your lips when you saw the reaction you were anticipating from the irritable transformer. "Just know that I'm here for a reason now."

        Starscream huffed, his hunched back straightening as if trying to assert back the dominance he never gave.

        "While you are not allowed to be killed, I sincerely hope that everyone you love dies _instead_ ," He smugly remarked, as he continued giving you an unbreakable eye contact; challenging you.

        "I love you, man. I fucking love you." The seeker blinked in surprise from your witty response, his optics darting left and right as if finding a rebuttal for your counter.

        "Come, Starscream, before you humiliate yourself further." Megatron ordered, causing for the Second-in-Command to stiffen at the mention of his designation-- especially when his lordship mentioned something about his humiliation.

        "You watch your vulnerable, protein-covered head, fleshy." The seeker glowered, before the instructed lieutenant begrudgingly complied, following behind his superior, before eventually, you found yourself alone with Soundwave yet again, causing for the latter to work with his computers.

        The TIC typed on his holographic keyboard, his role being the head-operator of the Nemesis in play. He had to reprogram the ship's weight sensors to acknowledge your weight and give you access to multiple of the ship's quarters-- with a few exceptions, of course. With your tracker, he wouldn't have to worry about you getting lost, for he could always find you.

       _You watch your vulnerable, protein-covered head, fleshy_ , the silent mech heard from the Second-in-Command just before the seeker left. Starscream should instead watch over himself, Soundwave thought, for he knew how much of a handful his supposed 'superior' was. Other than that, you don't really need much protection, given your impenetrable armor that Starscream has still yet to know about.

 _You watch your vulnerable, protein-covered head, fleshy._ Another replay within the TIC's thoughts, as he continuously typed on his apparatus, keeping in a thoughtful whisper that almost escaped his dermas.

        _It's not 'protein-covered', it's (h/c)..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha, I didn't expect to update early. Honestly thought it would take me two more days, but I suddenly stumbled upon motivation. Also (h/c) means hair color, if there are people out there who are not used to these abbreviations.
> 
> Other than that, "it" is finally starting ahhhh-- This going to be the slowest burn yet because haha his next "affection" ain't about til a few more chapters lmao


	12. Forget

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> T h e y a r e s t i l l t h e r e .

_Dead End._

  
        Soundwave has concluded such, as he stared at his screen that no longer held any more information to offer. It's not a usual occurrence for the Surveillance Officer, but he had already seen it coming with his constant failure within each attempt. All existing governments on Earth were scanned-- none of which had you fitting any of its records. No desirable results were found. It was then did the TIC consider to follow a different route and start back to step one.

  
        The Chief Intelligence Officer would have to search deeper into each government's records other than public ones. Numerous governments, which equivalents to multiple secrets; each organization was bound to have at least one, Soundwave thought. Why else would there be countless of conspiracies? Besides, even his own had secrets to bury.

  
        If you're not under any government's confidentiality, the silent lieutenant can only think of two plausible reasons why your identity is still a mystery to this day. Either you were secretly a hacker who managed to delete all existing data about yourself and was lying about your 'amnesia' the whole time, or you simply don't have a record.

  
        Both options were not on his favor, seeing that it would mean that he would be trapped in the shadows of secrecy. 

  
        Until proven otherwise, you have no past.

  
        It would seem like Soundwave finally met a challenge and lost.

  
        It-- _this_ was infuriating.

  
        His irrational annoyance-- a consequence stemming from his personality of not being able to grasp the acceptance of failure.

  
        And to think he was the one who brought you here. He didn't realize he dug his own grave by giving himself more workload than he usually does.

  
        The third-rate commander then looked at the source of his problems, or rather, the spot on his table you often spend your time on. Your absence's reason was due to your time and entertainment being occupied by the ship's medic-- strictly after an hour, Soundwave instructed you to return back to his quarters.

  
        Ever since you've been granted access to most of the ship's rooms (which he informed you of), you didn't waste any time to exit your custodian's hab-suite and explore the grandeur of the Nemesis. He wasn't worried; for, he locked you out from sensitive and confidential spaces. The Third-In-Command was rather lenient, knowing you wouldn't plan on escaping. He just hoped you wouldn't get yourself in trouble, or rather, cause someone _else_ some trouble. He would check the cameras from time-to-time to ensure this.

  
        Speaking of checking, Soundwave then did the same with the time. You should have been here a minute and thirty-seven seconds ago. Then again, you had no way of telling time, or perhaps humans weren't that much exact with numbers. Nevertheless, you should have informed the medic of your time limit, otherwise--

  
        As if to respond to his inner turmoil, the hatch doors opened to reveal an uncalled vehicon with you sitting cross-legged on its servo, a smile etched on your face, as the foot soldier knelt to set you down on the floor.

  
        "Thanks, Steve!" You exclaimed before hopping down from 'Steve's servo, waving the soldier good-bye afterwards.

  
        "Sure thing, (Y/n)." And then the vehicon left, sounding more casual than the TIC was used to hearing with the foot soldier's rather upbeat tone. 

  
        "Hey Soundwave, you wouldn't _believe_ what just happened!" You walked towards your guardian, as he took the initiative to pick you up and set you down on your usual place. "Okay, so, I got lost in the ship, and in the end, I never made it to Knock Out, _but_ I did accidentally find the vehicons' quarters and woah, they were a lot of fun. Who knew they're updated with the gossips around here? Like, they seem so quiet but--" Then you rambled on, as Soundwave attempted to block you out, still bothered by his lack of progress. However, he inevitably did take notice of your enthusiastic expression upon being informed with some... interesting events that happened in this ship. If required to, the Surveillance Officer could offer much more interesting stories to tell, or rather show-- _better_ than any vehicons could.

  
        Trying to divert his attention back on his screen, he can't help but be distracted by the white noise you were continuously making-- incomprehensible but still audible; not loud but still disruptive. He needed to focus. Your chattering skills may be more useful if you're telling him something he doesn't already know.

  
        This is currently the least he needed.

  
        "--apparently Starscream tripped one time with his heels because it got stuck in one of the ship's floor cracks, and--" The officer, now having enough, slammed a servo on the spot next to you, successfully quieting you and relieving himself from his pent up anger that he didn't even realize he had. It took a while before he let his servo drop by his side and return back to his post, as you huffed out then slumped down the pavement. "That was super unnecessary..." You mumbled, before letting the tense silence continue.

  
        You often forget that you're in a ship full of soldiers scarred by war, and at times, they act like it too. Crude violence, death threats, harsh glares, flaunt of high positions-- anything to assert dominance to maintain authority (you thought about tricking a certain heel-enthusiast into doing a T-pose). You've seen it on Starscream, seen it on Megatron, however, Soundwave is a different case.

  
        He doesn't do anything to seem high and mighty-- if anything, he simply teaches others their place. Whether you're higher or lower than him in value would simply be dictated by your actions and the results of it; not by his intimidation. Humble doesn't seem to be the right word, but he's definitely not boastful; that's for sure. He's just... quiet. He doesn't need to do anything for you to acknowledge that he's the 'superior' one in the room.

        Confident... Yeah, that seems about right.

  
        ...

  
        "Didn't find anything, huh?" The commander stopped staring at his apparatus, as soon as he heard your remark, now aware he was just gawking at his screen; the huge red label of 'Error 404' still present. He then closed all tabs and went back to the first step of his assignment; completely restarting.

  
        You watched as your custodian's slender fingers worked vigorously on the holographic keyboard, his irritation quite evident if you were to observe him closely. You don't know if it was his lack of success or your useless babbling (or both), but you still felt responsible regarding his hardship over you. Even so, what he did was uncalled for, you can fucking take a hint if he wanted you to shut up. Then again, he's known to be all actions and less words. If that's the case, he could've just hushed you or something like that..!

  
        Still... The dude needed help.

  
        "Y'know," You started, as you continued eyeing the silent officer. "I was hoping you'd be able to find something online so that we wouldn't have to go there, but if there really is nothing, I can tell you the name of the lab and go there physically," Soundwave visibly stiffened at your words, processing what you just confessed.

  
_You knew the lab all this time?_

  
        "Just so you know, I can only tell you the name, but I don't know where it is," You added as you shrugged your shoulders, as if it could make your excuse valid. "It was in the middle of nowhere."

  
        So _what_? Soundwave could work with _anything_ \-- with location or not. To think you had a lead all this time and you waited patiently for him to continuously fail miserably until you eventually understood that you were his last resort. It would have been sadistic if that really was your intention.

  
        All he needed was a name. _Any_ name. And you could have given him this at _any_ time.

  
        How frustrating.

  
        "What? You gonna be throwing a tantrum and slamming hands on this table?"

  
_Tempting._

  
        "Don't look at me like that. I was just recruited today," You reasoned, crossing your arms, before looking away from the TIC. He continued to stare, with you not being able to identify the emotion he was currently emitting. "I didn't know if I could trust you guys in the first place, alright?"

  
        ... Fair, but you should have informed him all you know as soon as Megatron gave the word. Now all he needed was words from _you_ to begin actual progress.

  
        "Before I tell you, I just wanna say that there's a chance it might not be there anymore," Okay, that he can understand. "And that you owe me an apology," Apologize? For what?! 

  
        You could tell that your custodian was confused, the slight tilting of his head and tightening of his servos obvious to your observant eyes.

  
        "You owe me an apology for hurting my feelings by being rude,"

  
        ... What?

  
        Before Soundwave could even give a gesture for you to clarify, you already answered his internal questions.

  
        "To apologize, you have to bring us to the place where I released the bunny. I just wanna hang out for a while." An absolute waste of time. Why not visit the lab first before slacking off? He could be working while you 'hang out' by the waterfall. It would seem that you're ignorant towards the word 'progress'.

        Your reason was so shallow.

  
        Why do you have to make things more tedious than they necessarily have to be?

  
        Nevertheless, the Third-in-Command complied and opened a spacebridge to his last coordinates. Despite his inner protests, he already knew he can't win in a debate with you. No, not because of his lack of voice, but because you're stubborn. Threats and violence would just fly over your head because you know they're all bluffs. No matter how intimidating they try to appear to be, you'd just laugh at their faces as if they're as harmless as the organic you released in the wild. Besides, you want death, so it was kind of counter-productive.

  
       Right after carrying you on his servo like he usually does, the commander then crossed the swirling green vortex, and like that, the environment around you changed drastically.

  
        The sky painted an afternoon setting when you reached the other side-- the sun was not set too high nor too low; just enough brightness to know it's day.

  
        The place was still the same as you left it-- untouched; tranquil. The small waterfall was still flowing, wild life was still thriving, plant life was still continuing to grow. A lot of productive things can be done such as hunting, fishing, exploring, flower-picking, fruit eating-- countless activities for a human such as yourself.

  
        Despite this, you just dipped your bare feet within the shallow depths of the small pond by the waterfall for fifteen minutes, your expression: conflicted and lost, as the cybertronian observed.

  
        You and Soundwave spent your time in silence; the temporary stillness disrupted by your small voice, barely a whisper that contrasted greatly from your usual lively exclamations, which then made the commander conclude that this was not a form of an apology, but rather an excuse to comfort yourself.

  
        "The place was called Area 51."

  
**~*~*~**

  
        It took a while to research and find the coordinates, but like mentioned before, Soundwave can work with anything, hence here he is, with you. The place wasn't entirely confidential. It just takes a good extra digging to be precise; for, the lab is located in the middle of nowhere. Specifically, in the desert of Nevada.

  
        Area 51, now renamed as Area X, was a science facility that deviated from the government for the reasons of unethical experimentation.

  
        The key word: _was_ , as the place was broken down and destroyed by a fire outbreak, which he could guess was the hostile response of the government towards their unacceptable research. Black scorch marks were present; windows were either stained or shattered-- majority was the latter. Soundwave can hardly believe that there could still be useful objects that can be scavenged from the wreckage. The building was anything but steady-- utterly unsafe... for a human.

  
        "Hm... I thought for sure the government would have completely obliterated the remains," You finally spoke, with you being silent ever since the two of you left the Waterfall (a name now Soundwave chose to stick with to designate the coordinates). "Put me down." Having to see you look serious was out of the ordinary for the lieutenant-- he was so used to see you being so loud and enthusiastic, but to see you solemn was... unsettling.

  
        It was no doubt that he was correct with the bad atmosphere he picked up from the abandoned laboratory.

  
        Slowly, the officer lowered you down to the desert sand, with you not hesitating to jump off once you thought you were low enough. You took your time to approach the demolished facility's front, taking in its huge and familiar structure-- the scorch marks and caution tapes urging you to reminisce what happened to this place; to reminisce what you've done and what you haven't done.

  
        Collecting small pieces of debris you can find, you lined them up in a line somewhere near the entrance-- twelve pieces to be exact. Twelve concrete rocks. 

  
        _What could those possibly represent?_ , Soundwave asked himself, but then, as a soldier, he can make a pretty good guess.

  
        "You think you fit inside?" You asked the Decepticon commander, as you entered the lab's huge twin doors; one barely hanging from its broken hinges. As his response, he simply crouched down to level himself with the huge gates and easily passed through the yellow tapes, only to stand upright once he reached the inside of the building. He didn't waste a second and immediately observed the hall you two were in, the gaping hole above being the first to linger in his pondering thoughts; some broken down doors being the next, then the sand that managed to make it on the lab's floors, and so on and so forth with the destruction he could see.

  
        The inner building was rather spacious and only had two floors, the second floor being the catwalk platforms which reached Soundwave's line of sight. You were quick to climb them, as if you've done it many times before, except with the worry that it might possibly fall off from the damage. 

  
        Silence lingered as the two of you took the time to explore the abandoned lab, the sunlight from the walls' and ceilings' openings being your only source of light. Small explosions must have occurred from the fire, Soundwave thought. At this point, the main hall was the equivalent of an empty, ruined warehouse, except there were passageways and wires that extend to who knows where. 

  
        "Those are the main computers," Conveniently enough, the lieutenant didn't have to search further, as the research apparatuses were literally in the middle of the room-- exactly where you pointed at. However, it was damaged, singed, and possibly beyond repair; its connecting wires not faring any better. But for your sake and his own, Soundwave had to try and do whatever he can to repair it, and like that, he immediately proceeded to spend his time to do what he does best: work, leaving you alone in your own world of wandering.

  
        You didn't like this place for various of reasons, and you didn't even know where to begin.

        Your sight looked around the sandy floors, dried blood peeking underneath the microscopic grains, causing for you to direct your eyes at the broken down doors to distract your mind from the upcoming flashbacks-- all of the doors were down; its hinges wrecked by some force. You guessed that the government took action and investigated as soon as they could; confiscating if they had to.

  
        You jumped off the catwalk, then walked around the hall. There were multiple doors that led to multiple rooms; each you knew like the back of your hand. However, there was an exception. There was one room that was once restricted to you when the facility was still functional. That's why when you approached the room that was once prohibited to be entered by non-personnel, you didn't hesitate to enter it, skipping over the dented metal door on the floor.

        As soon as you reached the other side, it only revealed a room that still looked moderately functional. It was just a short and narrow hall, with non-working computers lined on both sides of its walls. However, what really got your attention was that there was another door awaiting you at the end of the hallway. Of course, you chose to walk towards it, and luckily, it was open-- its door still attached.

        It was just a CCTV room, based on multiple monitors and cables that were present. However, there must be a reason why this area was restricted to you, therefore, you knew better than to assume that this place is as it is. Considering you knew the people who once worked here, it's best not to be deceived by appearances.

        Thus, you did what no rational person would have done. 

        You punched every wall within that small room.

        You hit every area that was within your reach, not missing any space if you could help it, and you only stopped when your fist's strike created a hollow sound. That was it. You fucking knew it.

        With no fear of getting hurt, you bashed that specific part of the wall repeatedly, until you eventually made a dent that caused the door's crevice to be visible. You let your fingers slide in the small slit, then immediately pried the hidden door open, only to reveal a staircase that heads downwards; that, and a rotting fetor mixed with the reek of gasoline that managed to waft into your nose.

        Your face cringed in disgust at the putrid smell, but you continued to trudge on, trying to resist the urge to cry from the strong stench. The darkness wasn't helping, hence leaving it to your brain to think of the most gruesome scenarios that may have possibly happened that made this repulsive odor.

        Based from the entrance's untouched state, you can only guess that the government skipped over an important detail-- skipped over something that made the government retaliate in the first place. 

        Therefore, whatever was down there, is still there, waiting to be rediscovered.

         Using the wall for support, you trod forward, seeing a faint blue glow ahead, unprepared for what awaited you at the bottom.

        If the smell wasn't able to make you cry, the sight you were about to see will.

**~*~*~**

_... Opening file: VehChi1st3FULL.tyt..._

_Authorized Password: **@#%** [REDACTED] **#^ &# **[ERROR] **\--**_ _**01101000 01100001 01100011 01101011 01100101 01100100 0001010** _

_Entered code identified as: Professor [REDACTED] **SouNDwAve**_

_Access granted..._

_\-- Opened --_

_Date created: 7-10-2009; Date modified: 2-26-2010_

_Patient recordings listed and stored:_

_Experiment 0.0.1.8.3: Amelia Gonzales; 12: Deceased; equipment failure_

_Experiment 0.0.1.8.4: Christopher --; 8: Deceased;_ _unsynchronized_   _predominant_   _body functions_

_Experiment 0.0.1.8.5: Terry Avier; 14_ _: Deceased; unknown autogenous disease_

_Experiment 0.0.1.8.6: Nera --; 8: Deceased; poisoning_

        .

        .

        .

        The list continued on-- a total of twelve, but they were just names, not explanations. The causes of death may be inconsistent and self-defining, but still undeniably vague. What kind of disease? Poisoned from what?

        Soundwave was clueless towards what kind of experiments occurred in this place; only having a guess that it had something to do with human biology or psychology. He didn't know what the scientists were trying to achieve; he only knew the names who were involved. Twelve, eight, fourteen, eight-- what do those numbers mean? Are they serial numbers? No, couldn't be; some repeated. 

        Twelve names, yet no '(Y/n)'. However, you knew these humans. Twelve humans; twelve rocks, as the lieutenant observed your actions earlier.

        The Third-in-Command may have managed to salvage the database's remains the best he could, however, not all of it, as he expected such. Some data were too damaged to be readable, thus making the information Soundwave has limited-- stemming from the most recent. Because your information wasn't available in the latest, he could only guess that your file must be older than he originally thought. Although, the earlier documents have been permanently damaged. He could only do so much.

        Still, he persisted to see what the old files could offer. There must be _something_.

_... Opening folder: Su=je=t S=h=r=..._

_re=e=tl= r=na=m=d: -.--. -.-- -..-. -. -.--.-_

_Date created: 01--2009; Date modified: ---2010_

_\--- sil=er s=h=r= --- d=sc=v=ry ma=e --- 2009 ---_

_C=o=din=tes: ..--- ----. .-.-.- ----. --... --... ...-- / -. --..-- / ...-- .---- .-.-.- .---- ...-- ..--- ..... / ._

_Scientist [ERROR][ERROR][ERROR][ERROR]---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_\-- Forced shut down--_

Well, the TIC tried, but there really is nothing to hack if the data was damaged enough to no longer exist. However, there is one more thing he hasn't checked.

        The commander then looked at the images he passed by earlier, the feeling of disgust towards humans only amplifying when he saw the portrait pictures of those 'experiments'. They looked young-- _too_ young. The numbers; they weren't serial numbers. They were _ages_.

        The experiments were just mere children.

        Although, the lieutenant couldn't help but compare and think that Shockwave has done a lot worse, with the Communications Officer holding full documents of the scientist's immoral studies. However, that didn't erase the fact that the human children were caught into something truly unfortunate. 

        Despite already encountering crueler experiments, there was a tug at his spark that he just couldn't ignore. Somehow, Soundwave was affected by the deaths of the children he didn't even had the chance to meet.

         _Sympathy_.

        Something you showed him not too long ago.

        An emotion he was no longer familiar with, much less remember. He didn't know it was the current emotion he was eliciting; for, his sentient core was disabled. The only thing he's aware of was the fact that you once  _knew_ these humans, and that, in itself, was what mainly bothered him.

        They must have meant something to you for you to make a small memorial for them.

        The memory of Laserbeak appeared unwillingly within the third-rate commander's processor, only to be pushed back along with the reminder of his other symbiotes. However, it kept resurfacing, forcing him to reminisce their offlining-- the effects of his miscalculations; his mistakes. He may have made a few errors within his life cycle, however, when he does, the consequences were cruel. A minor miscalculation and the cost for it was a life. 

       If only he thought about all possible outcomes, then maybe he'd still have Laserbeak and his other drones by his side.

       The supposed feeling of guilt is... sickening. He may not acknowledge it, but the emotion still lingers within his heavy spark. It still exists, and would forever stay to remind him that failure was not to be tolerated; _especially_ , in a war. The thoughts, the memories, the _reminders_. He may have lost the only family he has ever known, but he still has some things left to lose--

       "Soundwave," The called Decepticon snapped out from his brooding thoughts, as soon as he heard your voice, then turned his helm to face you. There, energon-stained from chassis-down, was you, an unmistakable expression of misery present on your face. "I don't want to be here anymore." 

        Is... that your energon?

        You don't seem to possess any physical wounds, granted by your invulnerability, but there must be a source of where the liquid life-source came from.

        Looking behind your figure, the commander noticed the energon trail that led towards a room.

        Perhaps, the neon blue substance was someone else's?

        If that were the case, then Soundwave may have a clue of what experiments occurred here, after all.

        " _Please..._ " Your voice barely made it to be a whisper, but seeing your optics eventually leak its kept-in coolants gave the impression that you must have seen something you wish you hadn't.

        The lieutenant considered your request, thinking that there was no information left to extract from the computers anyway, and would probably assign vehicon troops to scavenge whatever samples they can from the room you just recently exited, instead of retrieving the samples himself. 

        In the end, he failed finding out what your past was, and instead found other's.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHH, SUPER LATE I KNOW! And to think this was just part 1 lmao. My laptop's charger b r o k e and at one point, the whole chapter deleted itself right when I was so near into completion-- this month just isn't my best lol. Also oof, next chapter is the therapy session they all need lmao


	13. And Forgive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternate Title: S[he] Be[lie]ve[d]
> 
> Sbeve.

        _Crowds. Strife. Death._

        Those were the first three words that immediately popped within Soundwave's processor when you told him you knew of his gladiatorial days. It wasn't long when he returned to the Nemesis with you, did you tell him this after you released your emotional outburst at the abandoned laboratory. Your statement was weak in volume, but its impact was not something that can be easily dismissed by the Third-in-Command.

        The energon decorating the arena's soil created an image that meant nothing but carnage for the sake of entertainment was a memory that burned deep within Soundwave's _spark_ , along with his other fellow gladiators. It was something that cannot be easily forgotten nor deleted. He has done it for centuries that it might as well be encoded within his programming. Before the Decepticons, meaningless killing was his way of life.

        "Did you have a choice?"

        Soundwave only shook his head, with you already understanding that his life back then was not of his free will. The moment he was released from the secured place of his position, he had no "value".

        No use.

        To think that he was downgraded from being one of Zeta Prime's respected council members into a replaceable gladiator. Although, he didn't regret his decision of quitting from his former position. Anything was better than doing _nothing_ like the council members did, even if the action was barbaric for the sake of entertainment. At the very least, he served a _purpose_.

        However, the commander has still yet to know why his gladiator past was relevant as of now, especially after what happened at Area X. This was obviously not about him.

        He stood patiently by his table, with you collecting your will to talk while seated on its surface.

        "Did... the bots you fought have a choice..? Did you feel bad for them when you beat them?" You asked, purposely avoiding a certain word that correlates to murder.

        The silent lieutenant pondered thoughtfully. Did the femmes and mechs he offlined have a choice on whether they choose to fight him or not? No. Certainly not. They were all slaves, who each had a sponsor of their own. It was the sponsors-- their "betters"-- who get to choose their battles. No matter what the gladiators' answers are, they'll be put in the arena, regardless. To choose not to fight is a death wish.

        Now, did the gladiators, Soundwave executed, elicit any form of an emotional response from him?

        Yes and no.

        No, mainly because the ex-gladiator did not know his opponents that well. They were not his acquaintances; not someone under his authority; most definitely not his friends. To him, they were nothing of importance.

        And it's that aspect of them that made the officer regard them enough to memorize their designations within his processor. Soundwave did not acknowledge them because they were his opponents; he acknowledged them because of the very fact that nobody knew them. Being someone from the lower class, he sympathized with the cybertronians who once wished to make an impact in their onlining. A memory.

        To have someone remember them.

        For low castes... that's more than enough.

        Once reaching his thought's conclusion, the third-rate commander pieced voice clips together to form a response, but immediately discarded the draft when you spoke again, confusion spiking when he tried to think over the meaning behind what you said.

        "Well... I think you're lucky that you can't comprehend your emotions. No matter your answer, I guess I'm not any better either," You started, eyes trailing down towards the neon blue substance that's staining your hands. "Area 51 is the oldest memory I have. Ever since I woke up in that place, I don't remember anything before ending up in there."

        You paused, debating over if you should spare some details.

        You chose not to.

        "The department focuses on super sciences and advancements-- basically, all the shit they have there was advanced. Although, despite their past accomplishments, they didn't create whatever the hell I am. They said they found me in a silver sphere. They didn't expect a human to be inside it." Soundwave listened attentively, making sure to record every word that exited your mouth in case of a need for future reference. He safely assumed that the 'they' you were pertaining to were the scientists that once handled the lab.

        "As you can tell, I'm no ordinary human. They knew that too. That's why they performed various tests on me with my consent. I was immune to _everything_ they gave me. Viruses, illnesses, physical torture. The thought that I was a possibility... sparked something in them. An idea." You pursed your lips, a pressure, attempting to discourage you from continuing, settled at the pit of your stomach.

        But after what you saw, it was time to stop avoiding the situation you were running from, the moment you escaped. You have to face the nightmares you didn't even had the chance to dream; to peel off the bandage from an old wound.

        It was time to heal.

        "They wanted to replicate me; my condition. They tried whatever they can to get any available samples from me. And they went to work from there. Even though they were polite and nice about it, they maintained their personal distance; they didn't want closure. Back then, I didn't know why." You hummed, before chuckling bitterly at the memory you utterly despise: your moment of naivety.

        "They got orphans as test subjects. I was fucking stupid back then. Lost, clueless. When I saw those children, I asked why they were there. They told me: _they're orphans, just like you_!" You mimicked a happy tone, as if mocking your past self for not being even cynical at the slightest. You trusted the first humans you've met so whole-heartedly that you didn't even stop to think that maybe, the world you were brought into was corrupted. "They were the perfect subjects-- no one would look for them. No one would miss them. At first, I was kind of worried that they'll do something to the kids like they did to me-- even with consent. I witnessed how fragile a normal human could be. Nothing happened to them during their stay."

        "Thinking that I'm the eldest, I decided to befriend them. So, those orphans became my friends. Basically my only family. I love them and they love me. " You smiled contentedly at the happy bits of memory you had with them, then slowly, your lips turned into a scowl-- disgust much evident on your features. "One day, at least one would disappear each month. The first time it happened, I asked where did they go. And then they smoothly lied to me again: _they got adopted_."

        "I never suspected anything. It happened gradually until there was only one left: Terry. When they informed him he was about to be adopted, he was so excited and I was happy for him. He finally gets to have a family of his own; finally be loved by parents he always wished to have. Terry may be a teen, but perhaps, all orphans' desire was to have a family." A tug at the corner of your lips urged you to smile, but the following memory left it into something only to be desired. "He left the dorms with a smile, but then, something happened..." Your brows furrowed at the distinct memory of the time.

        "When I took a random time to stroll by the main hall, I heard a fight; a commotion. Someone was fighting-- struggling. Then the screaming. Someone was screaming," You balled your energon-stained hands into fists. "It was Terry. He was screaming; screaming my name; screaming for _me_. And then... quiet," An audible 'tch' escaped your clenched teeth when another emotion took over your memory of dread. "And again, I asked them: what happened. Y'know what they said? This time, they didn't lie as smoothly. It was unplanned. They told me, Terry just misses me, and for the first time, I called bullshit. I know Terry better than they did. He wouldn't be screaming like that if he was about to have that one thing he always wanted." The commander's attention never wavered. While the personal details were not entirely necessary, the lieutenant didn't really have the spark to cut them off from his recording. After all, you were entrusting him with memories that only you remember, and now, him too. You two are now the only ones who know what occurred in that damned place.

        "Naturally, I investigated. I searched for an opportunity for them to leave the main computers unsecured. It took me days before they finally made that mistake. You saw their names, didn't you?" You asked, looking up at the silent commander's emotionless visor.

        Yes, he did.

        "When I saw their records, I realized that I, too, made a mistake: I shouldn't have waited for an opportunity. I waited too long. I should've threatened a scientist there to open the damn computers or some shit like that-- anything, just not _nothing_." Your voice didn't crack at the last statement. You've fully accepted your fault; you came in terms of it a long time ago. "One day, there was an emergency moving-- an escape. Someone ratted them out, and the government was coming after them."

        You sighed heavily, the bright blue on your hands turning red for a moment when you blinked at the reminiscence of your 'resolve'.

        "I sabotaged their escape. Stole and placed flammable and explosive materials somewhere where they shouldn't be. And then, just when they're about to exit, I... set the match," Your eyes darkened. "I made sure no one was left alive so that all knowledge dies with them; that there won't be a chance that this would happen ever again. At one point, I had to shoot someone with one of their security's guns. You and I can only guess what happened after that shit show."

        So you're not as innocent as you led Soundwave on. Your carefree personality threw him off to think that you were carrying something this heavy the whole time he has known you-- even before meeting you.

        He absolutely misjudged your character.

        Despite now knowing better, realizing that you're now like him... didn't sit right within his spark.

        "Y'know, I didn't know how they'd replicate me in the first place, but when I found their hidden bunker, I had enough clues to piece them together." Soundwave's sight temporarily lingered on your stained clothes that he figured he should replace soon; the soiling blue substance prodding his processor to already create a conclusion that he had already thought of back at the abandoned laboratory. "Energon and vehicons were involved."

        _He knew it._

Then again, the Third-in-Command now has an idea where offline vehicons end up in after clashes with the Autobots. He just didn't think they'd be used for this kind of purpose.

        "Was it right of me to decide their deaths at that time?"

        _What..?_

        "Do you think I did the right thing, Soundwave?"

        You're... You're really asking him this, huh? Him: a former gladiator. You should think that he was the last being that should be asked of this, other than Megatron, and yet, here you are: placing the judgement of your morals--specifically murder-- to a killer. Do you really trust him to be a good person?

        What should his answer be?

        _No matter what reply he could think of..._

        "Still, it all could've been prevented; none of them had to die if they haven't found me," You managed to croak out. "In the end, it's all my fault..!"

        _... You'd still put the blame onto yourself._

        "If I didn't exist, they would all still be alive!" Your tears continued to cascade down and drop on the energon covering your hands, your lips forever frowning before momentarily quivering as if this suffering of yours would last for eternity.

        And in a way, it did.

        "I-It's not fair for them to be dead and for me to still be here!" Inhaling a deep breath, you finally let out every weight you've kept within your chest. "I don't deserve to live, _they_ do!"

        Your vents.

        Your confessions.

        " _I_ killed those kids..!" You exclaimed, a thumb pointing at your chest. "They were just children, Soundwave, and I'll forever be guilty for that! They're all abandoned orphans that shouldn't have been dragged in my life! And no one will remember them, but me!" Your blurred vision met nothing but a blank slate that is your custodian's visor. "They have a future to look forward to; I don't! I have no purpose!" You don't usually pry on other people's personal business, but for once, you want him to remove his mask and have you read the expression on his face. 

        You want to know his reaction.

        You want to know his opinion.

        You want to know his thoughts on _you_.

        Finally, after moments of silence, the lieutenant managed to create a string of voice clips to form his response. And for a moment there, your tears stopped leaking from astonishment at the unexpected reply.

        " _Live-- For them--_ " 

        It took you a while to process what the clips' message was. Your mouth went agape, as your watered eyes blinked back the next batch of tears. A part of you appreciated the thought of him wanting you around, however, the other part...

        "I can't do that... Not when I feel like _this_!"

        The commander tried again.

        " _Live-- to-- Remember them._ "

        "I _can't_! Not when I know they could have done that themselves!"

        Soundwave thought, as he searched in his processor to find the right phrases to merge and tell you. When he came across a certain memory, he was quick to replay the words you once told him back then.

        " _But if anything, no matter what you think, it's not your fault._ "

        You perked up at _your_ familiar words-- the statement you once told your custodian caught you off-guard from the sense of bitter irony. To think the roles have switched, and the same sentence was exchanged.

        Despite how similar the situation is, there was a significant factor between your two circumstances that stood out and made a difference.

        A contrast that played a vital role.

        "You weren't there..." You managed to utter out, pausing before continuing once you were sure you had the lieutenant's unwavering attention which never flickered. "You weren't there to save Laserbeak, but I was there to save Terry. Despite that, you acted, and I didn't. That's the difference between us."

        And then silence.

        Soundwave didn't know what to say anymore, or if there's something that's supposed to be said in the first place. Even if the silent commander wanted to argue with you and have you deny your claims of taking blame, he couldn't oppose because you were simply right.

        He wasn't by his drone's side when Laserbeak was in danger. Primus, he wasn't even there when Laserbeak offlined, but you... Your set of conditions were divergent. Your outcome could've been different.

        You fully accepted the responsibility because you were there. You genuinely believed it was all your fault-- your existence's fault, as far as what he could gather from your depressed state. When his flying drone sent that panic signal, Soundwave acted immediately. When you heard Terry's screaming, you waited. You both have experienced grief; believed that it's both your own faults-- but you were there, and he wasn't; he made a move, you didn't. So...

        What _was_ he supposed to say?

        Soundwave thought long and hard, letting the silence dominate the heavy atmosphere. Now that he contemplated about it, he didn't just lose Laserbeak. He was there!

        The Great War-- the symbiotes he lost. He was there, and he wasn't able to do anything to save them. Granted, the situation was very different, but the loss was still there. And he believes that he should take blame.

        What did Soundwave long to hear from his offline creations that you wanted to hear as well?

        What the lieutenant said defeated the purpose of the statement, both knowing that it didn't came from either of your deceased loved ones. But at least, it was said. At least, it cleared the confusion, and cleared a way to give you the idea of redemption; to turn a new leaf.

        A chance for change.

        When you heard the phrase you never thought you'd hear, you didn't know how to react; you didn't know what to say, but somehow, the simplicity of how it was worded caused for you to sob out all of your sorrow, guilt, and regret. After all the inner pain you've been through, the burden of having to carry it all-- you didn't realize that the resolution for your heartache was so easy yet meaningful.

        You know the orphans you've considered as family. You didn't stop and think what they would've said to you if they were still here; you didn't consider how they would have felt seeing you suffer because of _them_. They wouldn't want you to be hurt.

        And they would have told you the exact  _same_ thing.

        "I forgive you."

        From all the voices you've heard from your guardian's visor, this was the most consistent--it wasn't cut, the tone was appropriate for the setting, and it was... gentle-- not like any voice you've heard from the inhabitants of this ship.

        Unbeknownst to you, these were the words Soundwave had to say on his own. No other Decepticons ever uttered such a statement, thus he has no voice clips that possessed the same sentiment. His faction does not share such a sentence that can mean emotional vulnerability.

        But for once, he was willing to voice those three words out, seeing as the both of you needed it. It even surprised him that he may be the first Decepticon to utter such words. Still, the value of its purpose did not change. The two of you ran and avoided the deep gash that scarred you both from lashings of your own blames. The fact that the both of you refused to face your pasts-- an equivalent of the both of you refusing the chance to heal.

        And finally, after millenniums for Soundwave and several months for you, the both of you finally mended yourselves. And all it took was acknowledging that the people you've once let down would forgive you if they ever loved you.

        And you were confident that they did, and still do love you.

        Now, you have reached your resolve.

        For the first time, you finally felt tranquil, and it wasn't temporary. The calmness you currently feel was different from the "rests" you took. Sitting, lying down, relaxing-- they were nothing compared to the lightness you're feeling now. You can finally let your guard down.

        Feeling the urge to lie down, you did then closed your eyes.

        This was the peace you were looking for. Surprisingly enough, it wasn't through your past methods of attempted suicide. You no longer have the feeling of obligation to die. To hurt yourself. To suffer.

        You're finally free from the pain.

        To have someone listen. Someone to sympathize with.

        All it took to solve your problem was a _friend._

_..._

        Seeing that you're now recharging, Soundwave then exited his berthroom, remembering to appoint a troop search at Area X for possible valuables that can be retrieved. The mech momentarily reached for his chassis as he walked (making sure that no one was around first), his servo seemingly holding the metaphorical image of his spark. He noticed that his spark no longer has this tight constriction that he usually felt on a daily basis. It was lighter, _way_ lighter than the last time you had a heartfelt talk with him.

        Peace; that's what it was. And you gave him that.

        The Chief Intelligence Officer had to commend you, though. Of all the bots and cons who tried to bring him down, try to point out his mistakes-- none of them succeeded. But you, a simple Earthling, managed to do something that no other cybertronian has ever done before: you proved him wrong.

        Being emotionally healthy really _is_ of importance.

        You were right all along.

        He could only imagine how you'd react if he were to tell you this. Knowing you, you wouldn't live this down, thinking that a know-it-all like the silent lieutenant was proven wrong by an organic from Earth. You'd probably make a fuss and rub it in his face, then laugh about it.

        It was easy to miss, _very_ hard to detect, but for a split second during the commander's stride, Soundwave genuinely smiled underneath his visor.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ITS HAPPENING OH MY GOD ITS HAPPENING HE FINALLY OPENED UP ASFGHJKKL IT TOOK A WHILE, BUT ITS THERE. Also it took me a while to decide whether to make the past thing a conversation or a flashback. Im sorry im terrible at writing feelings oml, so some dialogues may come across as cliche or cheesy hahaha


	14. True Form

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternate Title: Amnesia But With Clues.

Current status: In stasis.

        [Stasis Records]: Opened.

_...Loading contents..._

There are only 2 available files:

>> **MEMO1** [LOCKED]

      MEMO2

_Unable to play file._

_Authorized access required._

      MEMO1 [LOCKED]

>> **MEMO2**

_Playing memory file..._

* * *

_Current status: Inactive._

_ An organism has made physical contact;_

_Activating Automatic Stasis Recording._

_New memory file made; transferred within Stasis Records;_

_File name: MEMO2_

_Scanning area..._

_Current Coordinates:_ 29.9773° N, 31.1325° E

_Location: Sector 7b; Galaxy-9 (Milky Way); Planet Earth; Egypt; Giza, Necropolis._

_Loose granular particles surround you, which your subtle scanner identifies as sand; a giant machine hovered above your frame-- its purpose seemingly to retrieve you from your half-buried state._

_A soft organic ectodermal tissue has made contact with your smooth frame again-- patting you, with the first pat being the one responsible for your subconscious activation._

_"Let's round it up, before people start getting suspicious!"_

_Specie identified: Homo Sapiens a.k.a. Humans. Young adult; female._

_"We got it; just gotta be careful in case it's fragile." Middle-aged adult; male._

_Suddenly, you felt the aforementioned machine grab your figure, before lifting you, slowly descending you on a closed container, covering you with a metallic lid right after-- any form of light being unavailable. You waited patiently, as you felt the vehicle, you were on, fly to its destination. For now, your only company was the darkness that surrounds you and the white noise of the unidentified transportation._

_No threats detected._

* * *

        Like planned, Soundwave assembled a small troop to retrieve whatever was valuable within Area X-- having to rip apart some of its property just to access it. So far, like he expected, vehicon husks were found, along with twelve human corpses-- each has a characteristic that differentiates them from the other. For example, one child has no heart and instead has an exposed spark-- clearly unfinished; another has no organic limbs and is instead replaced with cybertronian parts; one child looked normal, but once cut open, their nerve systems were replaced by the familiar nanites and circuits found within a cybertronian. Of course, despite how distinct each experiments were, they all had a common denominator: energon.

        Although, it's only natural. After all, it's what keeps whatever they installed in the experiments running, but at the same time, it's what killed the actual specimens. That is, if there were no other factors that killed them earlier on. Whether they survived those other factors or not, death by energon poisoning would be inevitable. Organic life was simply not made to thrive off of it.

        In the end, those scientists wasted lives on a project that was destined to fail.

        The Third-in-Command somberly looked at the family you once knew being confiscated by vehicons, putting them in small capsules that will be disposed off in a remote area, which he strictly ordered them to be buried. In his report, he reasoned that it was to avoid humans to further their research on cybertronians, hence the burial of evidence of potential research material. The explanation was... partially his cause. His main one was, well, to pay respects to the humans you knew; a memorial. And he knew just the location to place it.

        Once the troops were done scavenging, the silent lieutenant opened a spacebridge to the coordinates of the Waterfall, letting the vehicons go through first, before following suit himself; unaware that a manned jet passed by to catch a small glimpse of what just occurred before the swirling portal disappeared.

        "That can't be good."

* * *

_"You think it may be of Cybertronian origin?"_

_"What else could it be? Those Autobots have been here for two years now. Might be one of their gadgets scattered about."_

_"Then, shouldn't they be looking for it? I mean, it's kinda mandatory to surrender this if they are, since we're allied with them and all that business."_

_"If they ain't searching, then it ain't that important."_

_Your container's hinges loosened and unsealed itself, finally exposing light after hours of flight in shadows, revealing you to a new, brightly-lit, pristine environment._

_Scanning area..._

_Current Coordinates:_ 38.8026° N, 116.4194° W

         _Location: Sector 7b; Galaxy-9 (Milky Way); Planet Earth; U.S.A.; Nevada, Area 51._

_Three humans detected within five meters._

_One new human is introduced: young adult; male._

_.        "So... What do you think does it do?"_

_"That's what we're here for; to find out what it does."_

_"Maybe there's something inside?"_

_"Yeah? Like what?"_

_"I don't know. Let's open it up."_

_"Let's x-ray it first, you idiot. It might be some kind of machine that_ doesn't _need opening up."_

_"Ouch, hey, no need for name-calling. We all have master's degrees here."_

_"Yeah? Act like you actually have one."_

_"... That was painful to watch."_

_"You're really entertained by this, aren't you?"_

        _The humans continued interacting as they worked; setting the machines necessary for the next procedure, as you felt them attach wires on your spherical frame. They seem well-acquainted, prodding your processor's curiosity to explore and learn from them-- to be part of their company. They are identified as this planet's current dominant specie, hence it is only reasonable to choose them as your alternate form. You wondered..._

_What was it like to be human?_

_"Woah, holy shit!"_

_A green light suddenly scanned the nearest specimen-- that being the young adult; female._

_And from your root mode, you transformed to your newly installed alt. mode._

_Current Status: Online._

_Deactivating Automatic Stasis Recording._

[Memory ended].

* * *

 

        The Third-in-Command returned to the Nemesis with his troops not too long after the deed was done, with his report already downloaded within the ship's database just before sundown. There was this unspoken emotion he's currently feeling within his spark as he headed towards his hab suite, awaiting to bring you the news of being able to visit your offlined family in a less triggering environment. He deduced the emotion to be... positive.

        ... That can't be right. What part of that news was positive? The emotion he should feel should be one of melancholy when the deceased are involved. Well, he partially does feel just that, as he empathized with you earlier today. Maybe, it's not that. But then, what else could he possibly feel enthusiastic about? Especially that this feeling almost shares the same sentiments with impatience. Maybe excitement? Unreasonable. What in the name of the Thirteens is he looking forward to?

        He's just going to see you and inform you of his personal mission.

        Yes...

        Just going to see you.

        But then, he may have mistook this emotion to be positive. After all, feelings are not his strong suit.

        Until he enables his sentient core, he may never know.

        When you lied down after Soundwave's last 'conversation' with you, your neck collar indicated you've calmed, signalling that his words have succeeded in comforting you, with you falling asleep not soon after-- a feedback that your tracker didn't fail to give. With that said...

        Why didn't your pulse rate spike when you've gone missing or have been possibly trapped within a silver sphere?

        As soon as the officer entered his berthroom, his hidden optics were quick to scan the area, as his processor immediately operated in searching ways to find your familiar figure. When his scanners picked up none, he knew better than to have false hope and somehow have you appear out of nowhere just when he stopped looking.

        No trace other than the sleek orb on the place where he last saw you.

        Thus, he can only deduct two plausible conclusions; one, with you being kidnapped and the spherical object was placed there as some sort of distraction, a bomb maybe-- could possibly be a message from your hypothetical kidnappers; or two, with you simply being trapped within the foreign item.

        With the latter being the most probable, the commander still chose to scan the object in search for possible radiation or explosive he should know about, for the sake of caution. He detected none. Then, it dawned to him that you once told him that the scientists found you in a silver sphere; this must be it.

        Now aware of his delay, he thought of possibilities with you suffocating within the orb, however, he had gone irrational and temporarily forgot that you do not need air, along with the fact that you're indestructible. He knows you're okay. You're just trapped.

        Even with all the reassurances Soundwave reasoned to himself-- the facts he already knew that assures your survival, he can't seem to ease his worries. Hence, he hurried to Shockwave's lab, with the silver sphere already at the lieutenant's grasp.

        _This_... was irrational.

        The orb appearing out of nowhere was irrational.

        His _concern_ is irrational.

**~*~*~**

        Waking up from your stasis, you didn't waste any time to contemplate your thoughts once the memory recording has ended. You looked for pieces of your past before you ended up in Area 51, and you finally got it. However, like you bargained, you only got a piece of it; not the whole picture of the puzzle. Hell, it wasn't really helpful with your identity crisis; you still don't have a clue about who you were before being named '(Y/n)' by the scientists who found you. What even _was_ your name before (Y/n)?

        You remember that there's another memory; MEMO1. Maybe it has all the answers you need, or at least, a piece of your past that you can make sense out of.

        It needed authorized access, but... Who the hell had authority over you?

        Did you know someone back then? Who were they? Are they still looking for you?

        ... Do they miss you?

        All you know was that you were found in Egypt, but how you ended up buried there is still a chapter of your life that has yet to be unlocked, or in this case, rediscovered. You just got to have to find some way to bypass your own security--

        Soundwave! 

        He can... He can hack your brain..? Can he do that? Does that even make sense?

        You'll just have to ask him that later. Although, he might see you as an idiot if you ask him of such an absurd question, much less a request, but then again, it may be too late for that. The con probably perceives you to be an owner of five IQ.

        As if he detected that you would need his presence for a favor, the bot of your thoughts entered the room. And like that, his presence alone was enough to convert your distressed mood to an eased one. A capability your past family once had that your guardian now has.

        _Yo, Soundwave!_

        The called decepticon ignored your holler, his line of sight completely overlooking you, as if he's searching for something, before eventually settling onto your direction. However, something about his posture didn't seem right. He seemed... tense.

        _Hey, what's wrong?_

        He ignored you again, before examining you with his familiar built-in scanner. After watching him contemplate his sudden inspection, he then wasted no time in grabbing you.

        _What's going on? Are you seriously ignoring me? Helloooo~_

Willing your arms to wave in the air  to catch his attention, it finally dawned to you that you don't feel... like yourself. Trying to move your appendages, you can't feel them and it was then you realized you didn't have any in the first place. Now that you paid more attention to your state, you can't feel your mouth either. Despite that you're convinced that you were actually talking earlier, it would seem that all you said simply echoed in your head, tricking you that you uttered a word.

        ... What the hell happened to you?

        Your surroundings were a blur to you with how fast Soundwave was actually running-- no trace of his calm composure. It was your first time to see him hunched; running; not maintaining his straight back strut. His posture was undoubtedly different from his usual, and the thought of the reason was because of you, somehow warmed your insides. It's a thoughtful gesture-- even if it was only for the sake of his job to look after you; not necessarily caring for you. However, you like to think he did after what he put himself through for you.

        Before you even knew it, you've already reached Shockwave's lab; the purple monolith's back facing towards the two of you.

        "May I ask why is it you wish for my presence this time, Soundwave." The scientist's unmistakable voice drawled out, before turning, his red optic now focused on you, or rather, what you appear to be. "Is that your charge?"

        The lieutenant only nodded, immediately setting you down on the lab table, indicating his impatience for the head scientist to make a move to release you from your prison. The cyclops must have picked up the commander's silent order, as he then reached for you.

        Oh, hell no. You're still mad at this purple bitch!

        You want to move!

[Scanned organisms]:

       >> **Earthling (Human)**

        >>Cybertronian (Symbiote)

        Once liberated from your absent state, you felt your senses heighten, as you once again possessed ears, nose, and skin to sense your surroundings. 

        It was then Soundwave discovered that you didn't come from the silver sphere.

        You _are_ it.

        It would seem that your human form was an alternate mode the entire time.

        ...

        The officer thinks that you don't seem to realize this.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops, an unprecedented short hiatus. Haha, sorry, I've been drawing a lot that I lost track of time. Two weeks passed by so easily! Well anyway, during that time, I'm still figuring out the sequence of each event. I already know when the main ones would happen, I'm just simply planning out the events that would lead to it. I'm also rewatching TFP episodes, and it would seem that Predaking would be showing after two chapters ^^ Til we meet again!


	15. Partially Whole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternative Title: "I'm you, but better."

        Agent William Fowler is a man of experience.

        With his line of work, he ought to be.

        Earlier, he just so happened to have passed by the facility that was once named Area 51 when heading towards the Autobot base. It was by chance, and he didn't expect he’d catch a glimpse of the Decepticons doing their thing outside of his patrol hours. He was just fortunate enough that none of them noticed him, as they were about to exit the scene via spacebridge.

        When he saw the group of vehicons scouting around government property, it was his protocol to report it to his superiors. His main outline was that the Decepticons raided one of their abandoned laboratories to retrieve their own corpses—specifically, the butchered foot soldiers. Admittedly, Fowler saw the activity rather insignificant due to the facility only containing research for human advancements with the use of cybertronian technology; human-evolution is a useless study to such an advanced specie.

        But knowing the enemy, that insignificant factor could be of huge importance, and may just be their trump card in this subtle war. The Cons know what they're doing, especially that he was ninety percent sure that he saw their Third-in-Command present during the confiscation. The agent knew better than to underestimate the mechanical beings that would not waste time and resources to bring Earth and its inhabitants to its knees. At least, so far based on human-decepticon confrontations.

        Still, questions have to be asked: how did they find out about that branch when not even the Autobots were aware of its existence? He was pretty sure that Area X's files were deleted throughout all computer mainframes as precaution. The only records of it left were in the good ol' fashioned papers secured deep within the Intelligence Division's establishment. As far as he's concerned, it wasn't broken in by the Cons or by anyone for that matter.

        Other than that, what use are dead vehicons to them, when he knows that the enemy is not one for sentimentalities? Maybe it's safe to say that they weren’t after the offlined drones in the first place. Perhaps there was something else that Area X has that the Decepticons took interest in. After all, the facility went rogue and had undisclosed studies; it wouldn’t be surprising if they kept something from the government that would be of value. A new discovery? A prohibited study? A dangerous invention? It could be anything.

        In the end, William concluded that as long as the Decepticons are involved, nothing is considered insignificant.

        As soon as he reported what he saw to his higher-ups, he knew that they would instruct him to keep this quiet from the Bots, and honestly, he was hoping for that. Don’t get him wrong, the agent trusts his mechanical charges as much as they trust him; no doubt about that. After all, they’ve saved his life countless of times. However, maybe it’s because of his respect towards them the reason why he doesn’t want to see their reactions at the thought that there’s a possibility that their human allies could be like MECH.

        Agent Fowler isn’t going to lie. What Area X did may be far a lot worse than what MECH did. Downright horrific.

        Inhumane.

        And the government was affiliated with them.

        Back then, when he grew suspicious of Area X during a surprise inspection, he knew an immediate investigation had to be in order as soon as he exited that place.

        He doesn't exactly know the details of what occurred in the lab-- what experiments were held. Even so, as soon as he discreetly saw excessive amounts of blood stains that they failed to hide, he just knew human bodies were involved, and not in the ideal way. Area 51 was supposed to invent things to help mankind with the use of cybertronian tech-- prosthetic limbs, nano-bots, medicine; mutilation is not part of it. 

        That’s why he hoped that the men who are currently investigating the site would find the unfortunate victims and give them the burial they deserve. Fowler thought about how many were involved. What took his team months to find, only took the Decepticons minutes to retrieve from the hidden bunker they never knew about.

        ... He wonders if the Cons pondered about the corpses they found? Did they leave them be?

        Anyway, they'll have to disclose this to the Bots someday.

        “Is there something wrong, Agent Fowler?” The mentioned officer snapped back to the matters at hand, right when the leader of the Autobots just finished debriefing his last energon hunt with his team to the human in charge.

        “No. Reports noted. Carry on, Prime.” And with that, the man was quick to dismiss the red and blue truck and retreat back to his office; the mech noticing the change of mood from the adult human.

**~*~*~**

    "So, I turned into a silver ball and you decided to bring me here, even though you know I'm not okay with--" You faced towards Shockwave's direction,"--that motherfucker." After reiterating what Soundwave had just shown you from his visor, you waited for your custodian's response which was just a subtle nod. "Okay, so I can melt myself into a ball. I can live with that. But like, did my clothes turn with me? Did the collar mold with me? I mean, it's still on my neck now, but like did it melt with me or did it disappear when I'm in ball form--"

        "Root mode," The Head Scientist corrected, finally speaking after long moments of contemplation. He would have questioned why your clothes are stained with energon, but instead, there were more important matters at hand.

        "What the fuck?" You turned to the purple decepticon, not failing to openly express your grudge towards the unethical practitioner.

        "Your self labeled ball form is called a root mode." The cyclops repeated, his patience unwavering compared to yours.

        "Yeah, I heard, but was I talking to you, you over-sized grape? Yeah, I didn't think so," Crossing your arms, you continuously glared at the one-armed Con; your impudence causing for the scientist's antennae to subtly twitch, as he concluded that it would prove difficult for you to cooperate.

        "Perhaps not, however, I believe it's best to immediately address the issue with the most suitable candidate who was specifically assigned to study you," He suggested, but to you, his 'suggestion' sounded more like an indirect demand.

        "You call yourself suitable?" You scoffed.

        "Correct." You frowned at him for not acknowledging your mockery, as he said this naturally like it's the most obvious fact in the world. 

        "Whatever." That's it; that's the best retort you can come up with. You do not know how to beat a guy who takes your rhetorical questions as legitimate curiosity. Maybe he does know when you're being sarcastic, but chooses not to acknowledge it to spite you. The worst thing is that he doesn't even act like he hates you. It gives yourself the impression of being immature, even though you have every right to be angry. It makes you feel petty and you don't like it.

...

        Shockwave continued to stare at you, his processor coming to a conclusion that if he were to collect results from you, he'd have to mend your relationship together-- not as enemies. He doesn't know how long that would take. With you being unpredictable, he can't give an estimate. However, it would certainly be most desirable if he were to start his attempts now.

        "I believe that you are actively holding resentment towards me for the deed I forced you to bear witness," The monotone mech started, eyeing your reaction which was not much but your glare remaining the same. "Your ill will for me is illogical. If I remember correctly, I did not pursue my endeavor on executing the organic."

        "Yeah, you didn't," You derided. "The reason why I'm mad at you is because you showed me you were actually _willing_ to do it just for your study!"

        Hm... So you're furious towards the intention in itself. 

        That's a philosophical way to look at it. You basically derived his personality with his objective and the reason behind it. You simply presumed that you wouldn't like him based on his one act, alone.

        Interesting.

        "That, and how dare you have big bajoongas and actually look good with them?! I absolutely _despise_ your uniboob!"

        His... what?

        ... Nevermind. The scientist should've known better than you would actually study his character in such a critical manner of thinking. Even so, his processor begged to differ and is actually convincing him that maybe, you're not as black and white as you seem. That perhaps, you're not as shallow as how you appear to be. First impressions do have the possibility of being inaccurate or, at times, being quite the opposite.

        Maybe your impression is one of them.

        "How do you know that what I intended to do was not a bluff?" The science practitioner questioned, hoping to catch you off-guard with his theoretical approach. However, he found himself in a pleasant surprise that your glare didn't even falter.

        "I know what a killer who intends to kill looks like." A rather fascinating and confident answer from you.

        "Takes one to know one." Despite not being one who familiarizes with emotions, Shockwave's crimson optic glinted brighter in curiosity, knowing that he struck a nerve based on your subtle flinch. Apparently, it wasn't just the scientist who noticed this.

        " _See if there is of use from your discoveries from its... peculiar anatomy._ " Megatron's recording echoed within the laboratory, ruining the silence that followed the cyclops' last statement. It was then after Soundwave's intervention did Shockwave revert back to the original goal at hand-- having you willingly participate; not making you more stubborn than you already are. Perhaps his curiosity had blinded his better judgement. You are an enigma after all.

        However, the detail of when and why the Third-in-Command decided to intercede did not escape the scientist's observant gaze.

        "Would you cooperate if I were to apologize?" Okay, now that caught you off-guard, although you eventually figured that it shouldn't be that surprising. The dude wants you to talk, and the only way for you to do just that is if you were to cooperate.

        Admittedly, you aren't ready to forgive him just yet. You're a spiteful person and you intend on being difficult towards the purple monolith until he actually redeems himself or you grow tired of messing with him. But because Soundwave also needs every information he could get from you, you'll be talking either way. After all the Surveillance Officer has to put up with you, he deserves that at least.

        "Yeah." You shrugged, trying to keep in a smirk that threatened to escape your lips.

        _Still, that doesn't mean you're not down on fucking the cyclops up._

        "Then I apologize." The scientist merely stated with his monotone voice; not breaking eye contact with you. It shouldn't be a puzzle that he wasn't actually sincere with his apology... you think. Since logic is his right hand man in life, he would probably deem the acts behind social constructs to be meaningless.

        Shockwave fetishizes logic to the point he would compromise his own personal stances and needs. What better way to mess with him other than being the most irrational being he would ever meet in his whole onlining? 

        "Okay, but you owe me a favor," You chirped, your care-free tone making the science practitioner suddenly wary of you. Noticing this, you decided to add an explanation to have him agree to your seemingly suspicious request. "Hey, it's only fair. Knowing you, apologies mean nothing to you since sentimentalities are not exactly logical. So, I'm guessing that favors at least hold more value to you."

        Soundwave stared at the whole exchange with curiosity, his silence masking his presence once again-- forgotten in the background. You're unpredictable; you could use the favor for anything, and having that against the ship's Head Scientist is quite of a huge deal. That's exactly why the war strategist was so hesitant in agreeing.

        Then again, they need answers. They need you to cooperate.

        Shockwave isn't left with much of a choice and you all know that. 

        "May I ask what you plan on using that favor for?" The scientist asked, his red optic dimming for a split second.

        "I still have yet to think about it, but I'm sure I'd need it. So, what do you say?" You innocently beamed at him; the gesture commonly being one of invite, but didn't come off as welcoming for the tank shifter.

        "... I accept." Your smile broadened.

        "Okay, now we're chill. What do you want me to do?" You playfully asked. Shockwave knew better from his experiences that it wouldn't be that simple to forgive. You're up to something and that favor would be a part of it.

        ... He'll come to regret it soon.

        However, whether he would actually follow your favor or not would depend on your answers. If you're smart enough to hold an information hostage, he would have no choice but to oblige to your request. If you won't do the latter, well... Who's stopping him from disobeying you?

        Of course that would also depend on how inconvenient your favor would be.

        "Firstly, we need to discuss about your ability of transformation. As I told you before, your form earlier is called a root mode. It is the base of our being-- the main body before the process of scanning. However, while I've seen many transformations in my onlining, your type of transforming is the first I haven't acknowledged. Not only can you transform into possibly more than one alternate modes, you can also switch from either organic or inorganic forms. Definitely a new discovery," Shockwave neared the table your were at, his optic gleaming with interest. "And I've done multiple dissections before," You frowned at his attempt of an intimidation, as to while the scientist's sharp antennae twitched with unknown emotion.

        "So, care to explain why I can only transform now?" You inquired, hoping to move the conversation elsewhere.

        "A hypothesis I've come up with is that since the process of transformation had always been from root mode to alternate mode, you are no exception from this certain rule. Thus, you cannot transform from your alternate mode to another alternate mode, which your human form is considered as one. I believe a demonstration of this should be in order," Shockwave explained, his servo moving around his holopad, taking in notes, before his optic fixated back onto you. "But what I do not understand is how this is revealed to you only now."

        "Hmm okay, so after me and Soundwave..." You trailed off, taking a quick glance at the mentioned officer. "-- _talked_ , I sort of took a nap. I dunno why I chose to sleep at that time, since I didn't think I ever needed it. I guess, it felt nice at that moment. Feels like I no longer have to be on guard. And then poof!"

        "Then, it would simply mean that you can only transform into your root mode if you're in stasis," Once again, the scientist took notes, then suddenly halted at a thought. "That is, unless you can consciously do so. If that were the case, we can conclude that you transform to your root mode automatically through stasis, while still being able to willingly..." The decepticon trailed off, his optic now landing on your familiar spherical frame, before molding back to your human self like some metallic clay.

        "Okay, apparently I could do that the whole time. Just didn't know I can," You shrugged, as the researcher's antennae flattened-- the emotion he's expressing unclear to you, however, he did somewhat resemble a fearful or maybe an aggressive dog.

        "That's illogical," Shockwave said rather sternly. "Your root mode is your original form. You're supposed to know what you should look like at the moment after your creation."

        "Wait, you're telling me that my ball form is my true form? Really?" You looked at the science practitioner incredulously, while gesturing to yourself. Man, no wonder you've been human for as long as you can remember. Who the hell wanted to be a damn ball their whole life?

        "That is the meaning of the term root mode, yes." The Con confirmed, smoothly dismissing your reaction. 

        "Anyway, to answer your question, I think I'm suffering from amnesia since I don't know where I came from, what I am, or who I was," Shrugging your shoulders, you decided to sit down on the gigantic table. "But even though my knowledge is limited, I wouldn't say we're stuck at a dead end." Now this perked the two decepticons' attention.

        "Is there important information you wish to share?" The scientist prompted.

        "Okay, story time: during my sleep, I may or may not have unlocked hidden memories," You started slowly, unsure if that was the right way to introduce the topic. Just by the way Shockwave intently stared at you, you can easily tell that he was wordlessly telling you to elaborate. However, Soundwave's relaxed stance remained even when he heard you have new clues to work with. Perhaps he was interested too; his body language just doesn't show it much.

        "It's not really much. Most we already know like how I started off in my root mode when I was found by Area 51,"

        Another pause, as you tried to remember the coordinates you were found in, your face scrunching in concentration.

        "I was found in Egypt. Buried there-- in the sand, I mean," For whatever reason, the third-rate commander perked up at the mention of Egypt, his helm subtly flinching at your direction. "The coordinates are..." You trailed off, as you searched in your memory. And when you found it, you said, almost like a machine, "29.9773° N, 31.1325° E." It was then the Surveillance Officer confirmed his suspicions.

        Suddenly, Soundwave's visor lit up, showing your mentioned coordinates along with deciphered Cybetronian texts, catching the science practitioner's attention. It was messy, fast-paced, constantly moving and disappearing, but somehow, the scientist understood all of it.

        "What do you mean the specimen was the relic you were supposed to retrieve solar cycles ago?" Shockwave asked, his tone holding more emotion than you are all used to-- one that correlates to astonishment.

        "Wait, relic-- what?" Naturally, you were confused as there are some contexts you still need to be informed of regarding the cybertronian world; now would be a convenient time to be filled in.

        As if to make the current situation more confusing, the owner of the ship entered the laboratory, his struts quick and filled with impatience; somewhat resembling excitement.

        Of course, Soundwave did not waste time in contacting his leader for such an important matter.

        "I trust my Third-in-Command that I was summoned unpredictably for a justifiable reason," Indeed that as soon as Megatron was suddenly shown what the Intelligence Officer presented to the Head Scientist from his visor, it was of no doubt in need of the leader's attention. As soon as the ship's captain monitors showed the Surveillance Officer's notification, the gray mech made haste to make his appearance in the lab.

        "Our Third-in-Command suggests that this creature could be one of our planet's ancient artifacts." Shockwave started, his optic a lot brighter than you remember.

        "Are you certain of this, Soundwave?" Queried Megatron, a smirk tugging at the corner of his intake, as one of his optic ridges was raised. As a response, Soundwave only sternly nodded. Their leader's smirk only widened.

        "Uhm, yeah, uh, what's a relic? I know it means artifact, but does it have a different meaning on Cybertron?" You innocently questioned, genuine curiosity flashing on your face before being replaced by an expression of one being lost in thought. 

        "Relics, here on Earth, were sent by Alpha Trion during the Great War. They are ancient tools that serve as weapons or assets. Their purpose is none other than to help the faction who found them win the war." Megatron explained rather briefly, as you took your time to process the given information.

        "So basically, over-glorified weapons," You remarked. "And ya'll think I'm one of them."

        "Every relic has a specific function, but with expandable uses if you're innovative enough." Shockwave then joined in the conversation, as if having said what their lordship wishes to say, based on how contented their leader looked.

        "If you are what we assume you are, then we only need to find your specific use." Megatron indicated, his optics scanning you in judgement.

        "As far as the data we collected from you, you are no doubt of cybertronian origin," The scientist declared, reading from his holopads, before continuing. "Your special abilities are being able to transform into any organism of your choosing after the process of scanning-- both organic and inorganic, while being indestructible and self-sustainable as you do not require any need for nutritional intake."

        "And I'm guessing the million dollar question is: _what for_?" You estimated, now catching on, as you stood up from your sitting position.

        "With your shape-shifting abilities, I'm certain you'd make a decent weapon," The gray mech surmised.

        "Or a potential spy." Shockwave followed, which made everyone suddenly turn their helms towards you in suspicion, except for a certain silent commander.

        "Not spying on ya'll obviously. Soundwave would know," And indeed, Soundwave did not disappoint, as he was quick to back you up and clear your reputation with a subtle nod. "But I guess I can be a spy for you if you want,"

        "That would depend on your performance as a weapon, as we would need as much fire power as we can attain," Megatron seemed vehement with weaponry, so far as you've observed. "But with your invulnerability, it can be deduced that you're built specifically for defense."

        "Indeed," The scientist seconded. "However, I consider it to be illogical that you bear consciousness and sentience-- neither needed for a weapon nor a defense asset. Perhaps you're supposed to be a guardian of some specific item or area."

        "Well if you guys are right about me being some sort of protector, then what the hell am I supposed to protect?" You questioned, a bit doubtful. You don't have your unlocked memory show you something like that, but then, there was another memory that remained locked and may just clear all confusions.

        "I can only theorize that there's another relic shipped with you, but went off course when entering this planet's atmosphere," The purple monolith hypothesized, now reviewing his holopad where Soundwave sent the new data.

        "If that relic needs protection, then shouldn't that thing need invulnerability instead of me?" You inquired, unsure. "If you ask me, with my shape-shifting abilities, invulnerability, and unlimited energy, I kinda do agree with Megatron being the ultimate weapon."

        "Perhaps. But then, you do not carry any forms of offensives--" Suddenly, a green light interrupted Shockwave, a bit put off by your unprecedented scanning of his frame, to which you did not waste time transforming into as soon as the scan was complete. With your human form molding into a silver sphere, you then transformed into a miniature version of the Head Scientist.

        "Holy shit, I just turned into an asshole-- oh wait, it's just you." You snickered to yourself, before observing your new form which definitely felt foreign. You felt bigger, sure, but certainly not bigger than the other cybertronians in the room. You were decently half their size, a mini-con per se. While you do resemble the one-eyed scientist, there were some obvious differences too.

        First off, your color schemes were different. Instead of your hues being purple and black like the original's, it was white and blue, with your singular optic being a glowing sapphire. You'll have to admit, you don't know how Shockwave does it with such a limited field of vision; you definitely need to be precise to do your daily tasks right. However, the most noticeable and note-worthy change was your lack of a cannon arm, and in place of it was a normal servo. Not only that, but your human clothes and tracking collar disappeared too, much to everyone's awareness.

        "I'm you, Shockwave, but less douchey." You joked, as the scientist immediately jotted down notes on his holopad, ignoring your comment. "But I guess, you were right on me not having actual weapons, even after transforming to another specie. Am I supposed to manually install them or do ya'll naturally look like that?"

        "In every cybertronian, all weapons are to be equipped, as with other discretionary accessories. Any forms of vanity are also optional." The science practitioner explained, as their leader stared in fascination.

        "Hey, Shockwave, what do you turn into? Wait, all of you _can_ transform, right?" You asked for a clarification, to which the scientist did not fail to provide.

        "Indeed, we all have the capability to transform, as I transform into a cybertronian battle tank," Shockwave said as a matter of fact, as your blue optic glowed brighter in excitement.

        "Damn that's pretty badass even for a nerd like you," You remarked, before attempting to transform into the scientist's alt. mode. When you didn't succeed directly shifting into a weaponized vehicle, you tried turning back into your root mode, only to see that it's not part of your options. Begrudgingly turning back into the off-colored scientist, you grumbled. " _And_ , of course, I can't transform into cool things like a fucking tank."

        "Which would be logical, as you can only scan present forms; not the programming of the t-cog." The one-eyed researcher elucidated, as their leader hummed in contemplation.

        "No matter your uses, it doesn't change the fact that you are useful," Megatron praised, before you turned back to your human form, grinning at the gray mech. Like you guessed, your energon-stained clothing and tracking collar became visible again.

        "More useful than Starscream?" You teased, a playful glint at your (e/c) eyes.

        "If you succeed on reaching my expectations, then yes, you're more useful than Starscream." Mused the gray captain with entertainment.

        "Hah! Soundwave, you recorded that, right?" The mentioned decepticon was caught unprepared to be suddenly included in the conversation, as he was rather used to his role as being more of a witness rather than a participant. Nevertheless, he indeed did his job and recorded everything, with his nod towards you being the confirmation of this.

        "Perhaps having your first mission soon would decide your permanent role within my ship. Soundwave would still remain as your supervisor," And like that, you actually looked forward towards your first task with Soundwave-- something that's akin to a bonding session. You never really saw how the Third-in-Command fights, but you would eventually find out soon enough. "However," Megatron added. "There will be rules. The first would be your condition remaining a secret towards the enemy. Secondly," The leader looked at your form with subtle... disgust? "You are to remain in your cybertronian form, unless you are asked otherwise. You are free to select whoever's frame you wish to imitate; just not human."

        "... Oh." You guessed that it may be a uniform thing..? You assumed it was something like that. 

        Or at least, you want to _believe_ it's something like that.

        "Lastly, I do _not_ tolerate traitors." And like that, you were snapped out of your thoughts and were reminded that the decepticons value equality. They may not like humans with their past with them, and that may be the reason why they dislike them and only tolerate them at best. This isn't about humans anymore; this is about cybertronians which you so happened to be a part of. "Of course, you are in need of weaponry which will be provided and installed by the Chief Medical Officer of the ship. Until then," Megatron then turned and headed towards the lab's doors. "Make sure I don't regret recruiting you." Finally he left, a ghost of a smirk plastered on his sharp dentae.

        "Won't let you down!" You exclaimed.

        The hatch then closed with a ' _hiss_ '.

        "Hey Soundwave, do you think it's possible to hack my brain or processor?" The mentioned con only tilted his head in confusion. With how things are now, maybe that's a story for another time, because holy fuck, you're getting _upgrades_! "Nevermind! You heard the boss!" Hopping off the gigantic berth, you neatly landed on the metallic floors, your feet producing a sharp noise of a 'bang'. "I'm getting myself some blasters and maybe even explosives!" Snapping your fingers, you also remembered: "And I gotta get myself an official cybertronian form."

        It was no secret that you were exhilarated by Megatron's announcement. Of all things you could be excited about, it had to be dangerous items that you would, no doubt, use irresponsibly. May the residents of the Nemesis be at your mercy.

        "Oh, before I go to Knock Out, Shockwave, remember that you owe me a favor~" You chirped, as the mentioned scientist's antennae flattened in displeasure. "Just in case, I still have some info left to tell you, so you really have to do what I say if you want answers!" Then, you turned to Soundwave. "Hey Sounders, we'll meet back in your room, yeah?" The Third-in-Command merely nodded, the scientist noticing your attitude when it comes to both of them.

        Somehow, the cyclops knew you were this smart. What's mischief without being cunning? It was suffice to say that you hold Decepticon attributes.

        And then you left, with the two emotionally detached cybertronians remaining in the room.

        Soundwave was about to follow suit, but was immediately stopped by Shockwave's warning.

        “I advise you to be cautious, Soundwave. Attachment to something like _it_ , may prove you to be vulnerable.” The Surveillance Officer processed the scientist's advice, before, once again, nodding. And then, the faceless decepticon left the lab.

        Once the doors behind him close, the third-rate commander was about to take another step before halting when he saw you a few feet away from him.

        "Hey, Sounds, I may or may not know the way from the lab to the med bay," You bashfully admitted, your excitement earlier taking over your better judgement _and_ memory, only to realize you didn't know where you're going as soon as you were on the other side of the door. You still have yet to memorize the ship. "Mind taking me there, please?"

        Internally sighing, Soundwave released one of his tendrils and retrieved you from the ground, before placing you on his servo. And then, he started walking... as you started talking.

        "Y'know, I like how whether I was found by Area 51 or not, I'd still end up with you. It's like fate that you were assigned to find me." You started, as your legs swung over the edge of your custodian's digits, unaware that his hidden optics were taking glances at you. "Still, who knew we could've figured out my past sooner if i wasn't such a pussy? If I knew that going back _there_ would make you give me some pep talk and have me sleep, I would've told you sooner." You half-joked, subtly meaning every word. "But... I'm really sorry for the shit I've put you through, with all those excessive research and... stuff."

        "You don't hate me for that, right Soundwave?"

_I advise you to be cautious, Soundwave. Attachment to something like it, may prove you to be vulnerable._

A replay of what Shockwave told the Third-in-Command echoed in his processor, delaying the commander's reply.

        In the end despite the added burdens, there were upsides too. As much as he doesn't want to admit it, there were... experiences that he ended up being grateful for. None of them would have happened if it weren't for you.

        Soundwave finally shook his head, causing for you to sigh in relief.

        "Oh thank god."

        Not hating you is... not a form of attachment.

        And _definitely_ not a vulnerability.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YALL SKSKS, THE DECEPTICONS RAIDED AREA 51 FIRST AND SOUNDWAVE IS THE HEAD OF IT ALL IM ABSOLUTELY HOLLERING WHAT THE FUCK--
> 
> Okay, so I took a long hiatus because oof, this chapter was a toughy and asfhjkl I was deciding whether to reveal more stuff than whats written here.
> 
> so yes, youre the relic soundwave was searching for in egypt. i hinted that as much as i can, surprise~ xDD
> 
> me writing shockwave:
> 
> "no no, it-it gotta sound smart-- so intelligent that even i cant understand what he sayin"

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to criticize my writing-- please tell me if a certain character is acting out of character! I made this story to practice character dynamics and developments.


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